Christmas with the Uchihas
by MarzSpy
Summary: Sakura always dreamed of having Christmas with her boys, and now her wish has come true, being able to spend it in the Uchiha household. But Sasuke doesn't like Christmas, and only Itachi can help him. It looks like it's all up to Sakura to make it work!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I felt so into the Christmas spirit i decided to write another story, just about Christmas X) Don't yell at me for not updating my other stories, i have an excuse! It seems my computer is not broken, and my brother did not finish... repairing it, you could say. The next time i will see him is New Year's, so expect at least 3 stories to be updated then!****I was able to update this one because i typed this one in a DIFFERENT computer :D**

**Now, I was originally planning to make this a one-shot, but i decided it would be too long... so, i am planning for this to have only _3 CHAPTERS _so i don't think it'll take me too long to finish this :) i was planning to actually post it up on Christmas Eve, but i hardly got any computer time then, so i couldn't. Sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I do own Naruto in any way, shape or for.**

**Chapter 1: Christmas Miracle**

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura glared, bashing him in the head for what could have been the fifth time that hour. Seriously, when would he stop his silly shenanigans? Stating Christmas was a joke… ha! Sakura laughed at the thought.

"We know you think this is pointless, alright! Just don't ruin _our_ Christmas spirit." Naruto whined, passing Sakura a red Christmas decoration to put on the tree.

Yes, Christmas was approaching, and everyone was as busy as ever. And what better place to spend their holidays than the Uchiha Compound, considering Naruto had no real family, and Sakura's parents had left the Fire Country to visit their grandparents.

"Sakura, dear, can you help me with the lights?"

"Certainly Mikoto-san!" Sakura hurried off the ladder, nearly tripping on Sasuke, and scurried to put her coat, gloves, and scarf on to meet Mikoto outside. It was a wonder how Sasuke could still stay so stubborn during these festive holidays.

Though Mikoto wasn't one to ask for help, she was rather short and couldn't reach high places. Even though Sakura wasn't that tall to begin with either, she was still taller than Mikoto. Also, she was much younger, so stretching and bending using her chakra wouldn't kill her back later that night.

Fortunately though, Sakura was just tall enough to reach, and her chakra control made it perfect to walk on the walls. Sakura framed the lights on the outside of the house, while Mikoto held them, making sure they weren't tangled.

Wiping the snow off of her red gloves, Sakura stood back and watched in awe as Mikoto plugged it in, and the house became aglow. "I think we did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself." Sakura sighed in bliss.

"Oh it's wonderful dear!" Mikoto agreed.

"Baa-chan!" Naruto whined, sticking his head out of the door. "You think it's possible to make us some of your famous hot cocoa?"

Sakura sent Naruto a wicked look. "What happened to manners, Naruto?" hey eyes seemed to glint with evil.

Naruto gulped "I mean… kaa-san?"

"Sure thing Naruto, my boy." She laughed a hearty laugh, dragging Sakura into the house.

Entering, Sakura took her red scarf off, putting it on the coat hanger along with her long black coat: Sasuke had given it to her last Christmas, and she had made sure to keep it in good condition, after all, it wasn't every day Sasuke was thoughtful enough to give her a present.

When she looked around, she realized Sasuke and Naruto were fighting… _again._

Rolling up her green long-sleeved shirt, she walked towards them –more like _stomped_ towards them- and literally pried them off of each other with her bare force.

"Gosh Sakura-chan! I can't believe you used to like this douche!" Naruto glared.

"Hey! This "douche" happens to be our teammate Naruto... he has been for over 4 years. You'd think a person would learn to live with someone after that long." She glared at them both. Naruto whimpered at the glare, and Sasuke merely crossed his arms across his chest, looking at a different direction childishly while muttering a quick "dumbass".

"Can't we just have a merry Christmas? One filled with warm hugs, loving kisses, and hearty laughs? You know, like those in story books?" Sakura said, half frowning. Sakura was one of those people who _really _liked getting into the Christmas spirit…

One of the many things she and Mikoto had in common… That was why Mikoto accepted her so welcoming, and treated her as if she were her own daughter.

"Not with this dobe/teme." They both muttered at the same time, and when they realized they both said the same thing, they glared at each other… at the exact same time…

Sakura sighed… for being said to be _complete opposites_ they sure acted a lot like each other.

But then again, they did have a lot in common…

One of them, obviously being they knew how to push her buttons, and what buttons _exactly_ to push… this… being one of them.

"Oh come on Sasuke-kun… Naruto…" she sighed, shaking her head in a disapproving manner. "Would it help cheer you guys up if I tell you I got you both fabulous presents?" Sakura tried.

Naruto burst out into a fit of grins, and pleas to tell him what it was.

Sasuke's mood seemed to only lighten a fraction, because even he knew Sakura's presents were always the best… past experiences with her on his birthday and other Christmas' proved that.

"Come on Sasuke-kun!" Sakura pleaded. "Why do you always act so mood around Christmas?" Sakura asked, a pouting framing her face.

"Several reasons" he merely responded, a frown on his face.

"Do you mind telling us what they are? Maybe we could help you." Sakura replied, a warming smile on her face.

"No way Sakura-chan!" Naruto rejected, but he quickly got pummeled to the floor not even a second later. "I-I mean… sure w-we'll help you Sasuke-teme." Naruto said, trying to pick himself up off the floor.

Sasuke side-glanced at them before walking to the side of a closet, near his room. Naruto and Sakura stood in front of it, curious.

"You're problem is… a closet?" Sakura questioned.

Sasuke shook his head, grabbing the handle and opening it, side-stepping.

At first, they had no clue what he was trying to tell them… but after seeing the closet, they gulped in fear. Seconds later, an avalanche of love letters, presents, flowers, chocolates, and many more things attacked them. Sakura thought she was about to die.

"Every year, damn fan girls think Christmas is the best time to send me presents." Sasuke glared.

Sakura and Naruto emerged from the pile. Sakura grabbed a random object: a box of chocolates.

"Chocolate? But you hate chocolate Sasuke-kun. And I'm sure you're tired of love letters, considering you've been getting them since the age of _**6.**_" Sakura said, tossing the chocolate aside, while Naruto grabbed it and opened it, and literally ripping the love letter in half. It didn't matter; it wasn't like Sasuke actually took the time to open them all.

"Well I sure don't!" he exclaimed, gobbling them up.

"And… _flowers Sasuke-kun?" _she asked in curiosity. "You have _allergies. _I'm sure the pollen doesn't help you one bit!" she exclaimed. She looked at the sun flowers oddly. Who in their right mind would send sun flowers in the middle of _winter?_

"I know" he glared. "The presents don't stop coming all month, and I end up burning them every year. Why do you think it always smells like chocolate in here?" a small smirk framed his features as he grabbed the box of chocolates Naruto had in his hand –much to his dismay-, and threw them into the fireplace. Sakura got up, wiping herself off and stood next to Sasuke.

"Hey! That was a waste of chocolate!" Naruto whined, angered.

"And what's your other problem?" Sakura asked.

"Itachi-kun! You're back!" Mikoto's loud squeal stung their ears.

"_That_" he spoke viciously.

"Itachi-san?" Sakura questioned.

"No, not _Itachi-san,_" he repeated innocently, his eyes as deadly as daggers. "_That_" he glared, and Sakura turned around, seeing him greet Mikoto with a warm hug. He also gave her what Sakura believed was a mug… squinting she saw it said 'Best Mother in the World'.

"Aww, he bought your mom a mug." Sakura said sweetly.

Sasuke sent her an evil glare, and she quickly stopped, turning back around and facing Sasuke. "Itachi is evil." He seethed.

"Well… what exactly is wrong with Itachi?" Sakura questioned.

"Yes, what is wrong with me?"

Sakura jumped, abruptly turning around, coming face to face with Itachi's chest. '_Curse his tallness' _Sakura mildly thought, trying to hide her frown.

"Good evening Itachi-san." She bowed in respect.

Itachi nodded, acknowledging her. "Good evening Miss Haruno. Spending the holidays with us?" he asked.

"Oh Yes!" she said gleefully. "My parents have already talked with Mikoto." Sakura smiled warmly.

"Hm" he focused his attention on Naruto, who was still lying, buried in the gifts. Itachi eyed him oddly. "I don't suppose you'll be staying here as well?" Itachi questioned.

"Huh? Oh… yeah. Mikoto said it was alright with her." Naruto said, trying not to glare at Itachi, and ogling the chocolates was really helping him.

Itachi looked at the avalanche of presents on the floor. "I see you've got some work to do, Sasuke." Itachi smirked.

Sasuke grumbled incoherent words for a while. "What about yours?" Sasuke asked. It was no surprise Itachi probably got twice as many presents as Sasuke did.

Itachi bent down, picking up a box of chocolate. "I gave mine to Shisui." He smirked, handing them to Sasuke for no apparent reason.

"Smart" Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes.

"Very well… I see you're busy. I will see you all at dinner, Sasuke, Naruto," he paused briefly, looking at Sakura "Miss Haruno."

"Yes, see you then, Itachi-san." Sakura bowed once more, before Itachi excused himself and went upstairs to his room.

When the coast was clear, Naruto decided to speak up. "_See you then Itachi-san._" Naruto repeated in a mocking manner, trying to say it exactly as Sakura said it, obviously jealous.

"Don't tell me you don't like Itachi either, Naruto." Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Of course not." Sasuke scoffed. "You're the only one who does." He looked away. "That's probably the only thing me and this dobe have in common."

"And why, pray tell, do you hate him too?" Sakura eyebrows rose.

"There have been rumors that he'll be Tsunade-baachan's successor! Like hell I'll let him be the next Hokage if I can help it!" he exclaimed.

"Oh Naruto" Sakura shook her head once again. "You have to admit, Tsunade-shishou does like him a lot more." Sakura said.

"I know! But I don't even understand why! I'm so much awesomer than Itachi will ever be!"

"First off, Naruto, 'awesomer' is not a word. Second, she probably likes him better because he doesn't call her 'baa-chan', doesn't beg her for missions every second, and doesn't break her rules!" Sakura burst.

Naruto grumbled. "Well if you put it that way…"

"The hot chocolate is ready boys!" Mikoto's shout ended Naruto's brooding as he ran to the kitchen, eager to have Mikoto's famous hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Sakura sighed, shaking her head, and going towards the fireplace, where she soon enough began to put up 6 stockings (Fugaku, Mikoto, Sasuke, Naruto, herself, and Itachi). She then started decorating them with glitter, writing the names and what not.

After Naruto and Sasuke finished their hot chocolate, the boys took over Sakura's shift, and finished up the stockings for her. After that, Sakura ate her hot chocolate in peace, while Mikoto and the boys started putting up wreaths, poisonettias, and other Christmas plants.

And after that, Naruto insisted they have more hot chocolate… her peaceful time was ended short.

"You never did explain why you hate Itachi in Christmas more than usual." Sakura said, drinking her hot chocolate.

"Because…" Sasuke sighed. "Every year, no matter how hard I try, I get pummeled by fan girls, and in my efforts, I always get punished by kaa-san." Sasuke stated with a scowl on his face. "She says it is the time of giving, and I should be friendlier and accept their gifts." He snorted. "Meanwhile, Itachi never even gets _touched_, and he walks in public every day! I hide, away in here and I still manage to have some creepy fan girl in my _room!_" he said in disbelief.

"So… you hate Itachi on Christmas because… he knows how to avoid fan girls?" Sakura summed up, trying to figure it out.

"Yes! And for once, I would like him to at least be surprised about something." Sasuke grumbled.

If that wasn't a pointless excuse, then Sakura didn't know what was. It must just be a pointless hatred towards his older brother, she presumed, because no normal person would fret about that.

"There must be something we can do to ruin your brother's monotonous and perfect Christmas." Naruto said triumphantly. "What type of Hokage would I be if I couldn't even help out my best friend in his time of need?!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Pipe down Naruto!" Sakura scolded, half in a daze. "I'd still be surprised if you _made _Hokage because of Itachi." She said, though her mind was somewhere else.

"Come help with the tree decorations!" Mikoto shouted from the living room.

Sasuke and Naruto groaned. "I thought we finished them." Naruto replied.

"Nonsense Naruto! Our tree looks naked!" she replied.

And yes, it really did. They had only done it for about 5 minutes, before Sakura went to do the lights. What with a brainless dummy and a Christmas hater, they couldn't obviously do anymore. They just started bickering instead until Sasuke brought up Mikoto's famous hot chocolate, which made Naruto shout outside, and get scolded by Sakura. Then Naruto blamed Sasuke for his scolding, and they started fighting… _once again._

"Sasuke-kun… I think why you don't like Itachi-kun in Christmas is because he doesn't show the Christmas spirit at all…" Sakura mumbled lowly, and Sasuke had trouble understanding what she was saying. "…and you act just like him because you look up to him!" it ended as an excited squeal.

Sakura's logic made sense… sort of…

Because, Sasuke had always been infatuated with everything his brother did: his ninja skills, his actions, his intelligence, and even his graceful movements. Back then, Sasuke wasn't ashamed to admit he wanted to be just like Itachi when he grew up. Now, it took guts, since he realized Uchihas' don't act like that…

Instead, he settled with "I wish my brother dropped the stoic act on Christmas because I can't do it."

Sakura had been in a team with Sasuke for over 4 years, and she had known him already for… 8 years. The Academy hadn't really helped Sakura get close to Sasuke, but she was able to learn a lot about him during that time.

Like one thing, he _**hated **_chocolate with a great passion, and he had a thing for tomatoes. He also disliked the color purple _'poor Ino' _and he was _**not **_a morning person. Sakura had also learned a lot more about him, but listing it all would be too hard, and her brain was getting _way _off topic.

'_Sasuke wants a normal Christmas, does he?'_

"Sakura-chan! Help us with our tree, won't you?" Naruto whined. In truth, he just didn't want to do it all by himself, considering Sasuke was too stubborn to do so… albeit, if she got Itachi to join them… maybe… just maybe…

"Naruto get down from that ladder!" she quickly snapped, realizing he was high up there. No, it wasn't that she was worried for his safety: Naruto was always okay, and she seriously doubted the cause of his death any time soon would be a tree. She was scared for the safety of the tree itself, really.

She had been there when Mikoto bought the tree.

'**Who do you think carried it all the way here?'**the thought almost inner said almost made her snort. But hey, she was right. Sakura looked at her pant pockets. 5 of those jobs have given her enough money to buy Naruto and Sasuke the best Christmas presents ever! At least, she hoped. Tomorrow would be Christmas Eve, so she didn't exactly have enough time to do some serious shopping. She just had to hope not all of the good stuff was sold out yet. But then again, what Sasuke and Naruto truly loved, wasn't exactly the most common of gifts…

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto snapped her out of her day dreaming.

"Sorry… I'll be right back." Sakura commented, walking right past them.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrow raised. He had seen Sakura's wheels turning a while ago.

"Oh… just going to the bathroom." Sakura insisted.

"…The bathroom is that way, Sakura." Sasuke pointed the opposite direction.

"I know that Sasuke." She snapped. "But I have all my stuff in that bathroom. It's a girl thing Sasuke." She gave him a ferocious smile, as if saying 'ask more and you're dead.'

Naruto went green and even Sasuke seemed disgusted.

"That was _way _too much info Sakura-chan!" he said, getting off the ladder before he probably puked on it… or he just fell…

Sakura shrugged. "It's your fault for asking. Next time, I suggest you don't question what bathroom I'm using, and why." Sakura walked off.

Naruto shivered. "I'm never using your bathroom again teme."

"Neither am I" he muttered.

"Oh you silly boys." Mikoto laughed heartily. "This isn't the first time you've shared a bathroom with her… you'd think you boys would be smarter."

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, another shiver running through both of their spines. "I need to disinfect my ass." was Naruto's short mumble.

Meanwhile… Sakura was making her way down the hall, and passed the bathroom, landing directly in front of Itachi's door.

She brushed her hair behind her ear, a habit she would often do when nervous… she hadn't done that in over a year.

"Itachi-san?" Sakura tried to make her voice fill with confidence, and for the most part, it did.

There was no reply, but the door opened shortly after. "You called, Miss Haruno?"

Sakura tried to hide her blush. The way Itachi's masculine voice said her name sort of sent shivers down her spine.

Hey, she wasn't a fan girl anymore, but everyone had to admit, there was just something about Itachi…

"Well… I was wondering if you would like to set Christmas decorations with us on the tree… But if you don't want to, it's okay… but I think it'd be fun if you came… but you're not obligated… you're right, I better just leave." Sakura rambled on, not able to make up her mind.

She was already turned around and on her way, when Itachi cleared her throat, causing her to freeze, and turn around.

"My… you have a way of persuading one's mind, Miss Haruno." He smirked playfully, in which Sakura blushed in response.

"Umm… thank you?" she guessed, not knowing what to say.

"Hm" he used his infamous phrase as a hum. "Why, may I ask, is it you wish me there?" he asked.

"Well… I thought it'd feel more at home if everyone was there, even if Fugaku-san can't make it…" Sakura trailed off. "…and… I think Sasuke-kun would really appreciate it too." Sakura gave him an unsure, but warm smile nonetheless.

"Sasuke?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes… I think Sasuke-kun only dislikes Christmas because you do… I know he's always looked up to you, Itachi-san." Sakura began. "It might be harder for him to admit now than before, but I believe he hates Christmas because you're never there." Sakura frowned slightly. "But," she smiled mockingly slightly, "I think he does sort of dislike how you can survive Christmas months unscathed too… Sasuke was never so good at that." She let out a hearty laugh.

"My, very observant, are you not?" Itachi said.

"Well, I like to make sure my friends are always cheerful, especially around these winter times." Sakura replied. "I won't bother you any longer Itachi-san. I'm sorry I wasted your time." Sakura said, planning to turn around and go back to the living room.

"I'll go" Itachi's low response merely made her eyes bulge out of her sockets. She quickly recomposed herself.

"You will?" Sakura asked in disbelief, turning around once again. Sakura saw Itachi put his shoes on, and close his door behind him.

"If it means so much for my brother to be happy during Christmas, though I have my own speculation about his sour mood, one involving the fan girl situation." his lips quirked into a small smile, or a big smirk, as she would like to put it. Uchihas' don't smile, and especially not Itachi Uchiha.

Sakura's confused look turned into a great smile filled with gratitude. "Thanks Itachi!" she didn't even know what she said until the words escaped her lips. "I mean… if it's okay to call you that." She said hesitantly.

"Sure, Miss Haruno" he replied.

"Sakura's fine, I assure you."

"Very well then, Sakura." He smirked.

Sakura passed the bathroom, and paused. "Sakura?" he asked, as if saying why she was stopping.

She smiled brightly at him. "I'll meet you there shortly… I have to use the bathroom." She felt like laughing on the inside.

"Hn" he replied, walking off.

* * *

When Sakura came back, she saw Mikoto stuffing the stockings with candy canes and such, with Sasuke and Naruto trying to wrap presents… key word, _trying._

And there Itachi was, staring at the ornaments oddly. She felt like laughing as she crept up behind him. "Need some help?" she asked, a sort of mocking amusement in her tone.

"Ahh" he muttered, smirking at her.

"How about we all decorate the tree together?" Sakura said out loud, mostly directing the question towards Sasuke.

"Busy… wrapping… present." Naruto growled in between glares.

"You two are obviously useless when it comes to wrapping presents. Stop before we run out of wrapping paper, _and _you break yourselves." Sakura over-exaggerated, though in truth… she could see it happening. A mental image almost made her laugh, but she settled for a laugh.

Sasuke glared at her, but he stood up either way and went towards Sakura and Itachi. Naruto gave up soon afterwards, dropping the tape and the present, which had been meant for Fugaku.

"You go ahead kids. I'll finish with the stockings and wrap Fuga-kun's present." Mikoto replied merrily. Leave it to Mikoto to be the only one able to give Fugaku a childish nickname and _live._

"Are you sure Mikoto? We wouldn't want to leave you out of the Christmas spirit." Sakura said, unsure.

"Oh, I have plenty of Christmas spirit, no worries Sakura." Mikoto dismissed, a candy cane in her hand.

"Okay..." Sakura trailed off, focusing her attention on the tree. "Naruto, you work with me, and Itachi, you stick with Sasuke." Sakura directed. "I'll get another ladder, and by no means Naruto, will you be anywhere _near them_, got it?" Sakura almost threteaned.

"H-Hai S-Sakura-chan." Naruto stuttered out, in fear of his life.

"Sasuke, you hand Itachi the ornaments while he puts them on the tree, get started." Sakura commanded, going towards the coat rack, getting her scark, gloves, and coat. She swiftly put them on, going outside and getting a stool from the storage in the backyard. They didn't have anymore ladders.

Sakura got back in a matter of minutes, setting the stool, or small ladder down next to the tree and climbing up, after putting her stuff back on the coat rack. "Okay Naruto, hand me the ornaments." Sakura said, examining Sasuke and Itachi. She couldn't help but let a smile frame her face.

Sasuke didn't seem pissed off, and he actually seemed to be _enjoying _himself. Sakura glanced at Itachi; who knew he was the key to Sasuke's Christmas spirit? Itachi caught her staring, and he merely smirked. Sakura smiled at him in return, as if saying thank you for actually interacting with them. Who ever knew Itachi could actually be nice? Sasuke sure didn't, and Sakura didn't expect it.

With Itachi and Sasuke on one side, and Sakura and Naruto on the other, they got done in no time, with only one more ornament left.

"Can i please put it on?" Sakura pleaded, a frown on her face. Putting the star on top of the tree had always been her favorite, she didn't know why.

"Sure" Itachi replied curtly.

"Go head" Sasuke shrugged.

"Have a blast" Naruto grinned.

"Thanks guys!" Sakura smiled at her boys. Well, Naruto and Sasuke would always be hers... Itachi? Not so much... Though, she had to admit, these past few hours, he seemed to have really opened up... not really, but more than anyone could honestly say.

Sakura got up on the small stood/ladder, the shiny star on her right hand. Sakura frowned.

_'Damn it... I can't reach.' _Sakura pouted, this was not fair! Curse her and her small self. _'No... I must make it.' _Sakura thought triumphantly.

Sakura got on her tip-toes, reaching as for as she could. "You need some help Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked hesitantly from behind her, watching her green backside nervously.

"No," she seethed, "I got it Naruto" she said, though in truth, she was just sort from 'getting it'.

_'Just a... little more...' _Sakura strained, pulling her arms as far as she could, being right at the edge of the stool, and even making a ballerina pose, literally standing on her toes.

"Got it!" she exclaimed happily. She shouldn't have been so happy just yet... the stool flipped over and it an attempt to save the tree and all its god-like beauty, she leaned to the side.

_'At least the tree is safe.' _Sakura thought happily.

Though she was expecting the fall flat on her face, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her safely. Sakura sighed in relief, looking up at her savior. "Thanks Sasuke-kun" she smiled greatfully at him.

"Clumsy" he merely muttered under his breath, shaking his head in a disapproving manner.

Sakura glared as she started squirming and hitting him... and well, who's to say they both started falling... _again._

And yet again, she felt arms reach out to grab her just in time... while Sasuke fell... _hard_. Yeah, Sakura had managed to pummel him to the ground in the nick of time.

Sakura looked up again, confused... Naruto was currently laughing his ass off, pointing at Sasuke directly in front of her... and unless Mikoto really wasn't that weak, and Fugaku was still at work...

"Itachi" her doey eyes looked directly at Itachi, seeing him smirk in amusement.

"Sakura" he repeated calmly.

She stared at him in shock for several more seconds. "Ahh, thank you Itachi..." she said sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. She hadn't noticed until now she had had her arms wrapped around his neck... Sakura, unlike most feline cats, did not _always _land on her feet... Actually, she usually landed on her bottom...

"Hn" he replied, setting her down gently.

They stared at each other for several more seconds until Naruto's laughing got much to loud, and they focused on Sasuke, who was still lying on the floor, glaring at Itachi. "You could have helped me too." something which could almost be called a pout came to his face.

"Ladies first, as they say." Itachi said calmly, grabbing Sasuke by the hand and pulling him up, and then patting him on the head. Wow... he hadn't done _that _for a while. A true pout appeared on Sasuke's face and Sakura really considered this to be her Christmas miracle.

"Excuse me, but are you referring to Sakura as a _lady?" _Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"What are you implying then?" Itachi raised an eyebrow. From beside him, Sakura cracked her knuckles dangerously.

"You better choose your next words wisely, Sasuke-kun." she threatened.

"She's not just _a lady..._ she's my teammate and best friend." the words came all too natural to Sasuke, and it didn't even sound as if he were kidding.

"My mistake, Sasuke" Itachi replied, obviously amused how Sakura could easily strike fear into Sasuke.

"Aww, Sasuke-kun, you really think that?" Sakura said sweetly, giving him a nice, tender bear hug.

Itachi heard his spine crack seconds afterwards: that hug was obviously a literal _bear hug _and was not meant to be none too gentle either.

"O-Of course Sakura" his voice cracked slightly due to the pain.

"Let's all go Christmas caroling now!" Mikoto announced out of nowhere, appearing beside Sasuke and Sakura.

"Yes!" Sakura squealed, urgently grabbing her coat, scarf, and gloves.

The boys, excluding Itachi, merely sighed in boredom, putting on their own extra layer of clothes.

And off they went...

**End of Chapter**

**Well? How'd you all like it? I hope none of the characters seem too OOC D: if they do, tell me and i'll try my best to fix them up a little! Oh and sorry if you see any mistakes! I wrote this on fanfiction itself (because Microsoft isn't working right now) so i didn't have a spell checker and what not, and i didn't want to post this up any later then it already was!**

**Please review and tell me how you like this chapter and the story so far! Give me a late Christmas present? X) haha**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


	2. Shopping Rush

**Hi! Marzy-chan here with the next chappy!! Hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!!!**

**Chapter 2: Shopping Rush**

Sakura panted heavily, entering the house once again. "Note to self: never go Christmas caroling with the two most wanted men in the Fire Country." she sighed, taking off her red boots, courtesy of Ino last Christmas.

"Well what'd you expect?" Naruto rolled his eyes playfully. "Even though they didn't utter a single word they still had the ability to make all the girls faint."

"That's mostly because they might have been looking rather irresistable under the snow-filled background." Sakura rolled her eyes as well.

"Or maybe the Christmas lights gave them an oddly, god-like glow." Naruto reasoned.

"Could be both." Sakura agreed.

Naruto and Sakura started reasoning out all the possibilities for about five minutes, all the while Mikoto was enjoying the fun conversation, and the two Uchiha brothers kept staring at Sakura and Naruto oddly, giving each other amused glances every now and then.

Naruto sighed. "Of course it'll all come down to the Uchiha blood, what with those freaken skills." Naruto grumbled.

"And those irresistable eyes and tempting bodies, you can't forget." Sakura added, bobbing her head up and down.

Sasuke coughed, as if saying "I'm right here, you know?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I'm a girl, we do these things. Get over it." Sakura rolled her eyes. "You'd think that being in a team with him for over 4 years would have made him learn by now; Geez."

"Well it's getting awful late." Mikoto interrupted, before everything turned out into a big argument. "We best be going to bed anyway, you have a big day tomorrow Sakura, don't you?" Mikoto said.

"What's tomorrow?" Naruto asked, glancing at Sakura.

"My season holiday gift rush." she announced proudly, almost laughing in embarassement.

"I thought you said you had our presents." Naruto frowned.

"Yeah..." Sakura scoffed. "I had them... memorized, and I know where to buy them too." Sakura smiled.

"Let's get to bed guys." Mikoto interrupted before an argument could erupt, once again. She knew how serious Naruto could get when it came to presents, or more specifically, his presents.

"Hn" both Uchihas' said in unison, though the younger of the two still seemed to be fazed by the dozens of fangirls he had ecountered several minutes ago. And people asked him why he hated the holidays... pssht. Sakura talking about girls 'noticing' these things like that seemed kind of.... I don't know, **creepy.**

**(A/N: But he's a guy so pshhht... he doesn't get it XD)**

"Yeah, yeah..." Naruto yawned, beginning to walk down the hallway. "Oh, I almost forgot." he muttered, turning around. "Itachi, can I use your bathroom?"

Before Itachi could even ask a question, Sakura was already pummeling Naruto to the ground. Sakura picked him up by the leg, and Naruto began crying in fear, begging for Sakura to put him down gently, and to accept his apology. Sakura paid no heed to his please though, opening the door and throwing him out of the house harshly. She only hoped he reached Suna with the strength she put into that throw.

"Anyone else have any more interruptions? Maybe you Sasuke?" she directed her question towards him, the look on her face daring him to even lift a finger.

"No, I'm good. I'll be excusing myself." he disappeared before Sakura had the chance to get a mood swing, and decide to kill him just for the heck of it.

"Well then, I'll be excusing myself." Sakura smiled. "Good night Mikoto." she went up to her, giving her a hearty hug. "Good night Itachi." she bowed in respect, before leaving.

Itachi was lost almost, and he looked at Mikoto to clear this up. She merely laughed and went to the kitchen and served herself some hot cocoa. She said she would stay up and wait for Fugaku to arrive, and hopefully, Naruto as well. What with Sakura's anger, you could never be so sure just how far Sakura had thrown the poor lad.

Itachi pressed on no further, for he had a clue he wouldn't get much else from Mikoto. Whatever Naruto was about to say must have been grave, or at least something Sakura sure didn't want _him _of all people knowing. But then again, what was so bad that Itachi couldn't know? It wasn't like _he _would go running off, gossiping about whatever it was.

And it had been something about the bathroom too... Why did Naruto not want to use it?

The truth dawned on him a few minutes afterward, after recalling a certain event with one of his female cousins.

Itachi quirked an eyebrow. Sure, Itachi didn't exactly _need _to be filled in about that, but it wasn't like it was all that... serious...

He had had female teammates before, one of them being Hana, and he knew how she could get when it was that time of the month. Let's just say Itachi didn't ask her anything, and he gave her the personal space she needed.

Shisui and Kakashi, on the other hand, were a different story. They seemed to love annoying the _hell _out of her and any other female teammate they had, and even more when it was a sure thing she was aggravated, or on her menstrual cycle. How did he know? Because from Hana's and his opinion, it just seemed they loved to get beaten to a bloody pulp -nearly to death- every time.

And on a mission with Kakashi and Shizune, where she had been assigned as their medic. She had been complaining about cramps and stomach pains the whole time, and they had to decrease their speed by a lot so she wouldn't be in so much pain. Needless to say, she had to save up her chakra to heal them, not soothe away her cramps.

Itachi had been too busy with his thoughts he almost didn't sense Naruto coming in. Frankly, he looked more like snow frost. His tears had long since turn into tiny crystals, and apparently, his nose had been runny, for some icicles now hung from them.

"Y-You know w-what Itachi?" Naruto began, stuttering like crazy, because of his freezing self, "I-I think I'll use t-the other b-bathroom." Naruto shivered.

"Oh dear, is it really that cold out?" Mikoto appeared from the kitchen, and instantly ran down the hallway, appearing with several blankets. "Stand still Naruto." she said, making some handsigns.

"M-M-Mikoto... what are you d-doing?" Naruto asked hesitantly. He had seen the beginning seal; was she trying to burn him to a crisp?

"Don't worry Naruto. I made this technique, it'll just defrost you before you freeze to death." Mikoto smiled.

Small flames enveloped Naruto, and it seemed it was burning him. In truth, it melted all the ice/snow, turning it into water, but it soon evaporated into nothing. Naruto was done defrosting himself in about 2 minutes, and then Mikoto wrapped the blankets around him. "This is what happens when you try to go against Sakura. You'd think you boys would have learned your lesson by now." Mikoto sighed, going into the kitchen, coming back minutes later with another cup of hot cocoa.

She found Naruto sitting next to the fireplace, trying to get as warm as possible. Mikoto tsk'ed. "I hope this taught you a valuable lesson." Mikoto scolded.

"Never give out any information about Sakura during winter?" Naruto shivered out.

"Close enough." Mikoto shrugged. "Now, don't stay up too late boys, I'll be excusing myself." and with that, Mikoto kissed Itachi on the cheek, and then kissed Naruto on the head, before leaving.

"Good night Okaa-san, Naruto." he left as well, leaving a shivering Naruto there, wondering if he would be okay if he stepped in to the fire... He never was good at fire-based techniques...

* * *

"Good morning!" Sakura chirped, appearing in the kitchen, where everyone was already sitting, waiting for Sakura so they could eat breakfast. "Isn't it such a beautiful Christmas Eve?" she sighed in bliss.

"Oh, yes indeed dear!" Mikoto squealed. Naruto sweat dropped, Sasuke scowled, and Itachi remained emotionless. "So what's the plan dear?" Mikoto asked, as everyone started serving themselves their food.

"After this I have going directly to the shopping district, along with a few other stops." Sakura replied, taking a bite out of her eggs.

"Christmas shopping?" Naruto mumbled, chewing his toast.

"Yeah, I still need a few more gifts to go." Sakura replied, serving herself some orange juice.

"Mind if I go with Sakura-chan? I still need to get a few presents myself."

"Sure Naruto, but you'll have to go away while I'm getting your present." a glint of what could have been mischief escaped Sakura. This only furthered Naruto's eagerness for Christmas day to arrive, to open her present specfically. Not only did Sakura always go overboard with them, but she made sure the presents were perfect for whoever the person may be.

Naruto grinned. "Sure thing Sakura-chan!" his over-enthusiastic self said.

Sakura merely giggled lightly as she smiled. She always did love Naruto's hyper-active self.... okay, she lied. Not always. But in these particular times, she welcomed it with open arms.

Breakfast was done in around 15 minutes, and then Sakura helped Mikoto clear the table. Afterwards, she prepared herself by putting on her favorite red snow boots, and some black gloves. "You ready Naruto?"

"Almost!" was his reply as he appeared from the hallway, zipping up his jacket.

"It's not that cold out right now." Sakura replied, opening the door.

It was bright outside, considering it consisted of pure white snow, and the light heat that came with the sun. Sakura always did enjoy the chilly warmth she would get; both of those elements combined felt like pure bliss to her. You'd have the enjoyment of playing in the snow all day, but you'd also have this warm feeling crawling in your skin.

Naruto made his way out the door, and Sakura turned around briefly. "Sasuke-kun, you don't want to come with us?" she suggested. "Maybe get some last minute shopping done?" she asked.

Sasuke seemed hesitant as he looked behind him for the briefest of moments, before facing Sakura once again. "No, I'm good." he reply with a curt shake of his head.

"Suit yourself, but you'll be missing out." she winked at him childishly.

"Sakura dear, hold on a minute." Mikoto stopped her before she exited.

"Yes Mikoto?" Sakura asked.

"You mind getting this for tomorrow? I have it written here in a list." Mikoto said, approaching her and giving her a small piece of paper, along with a stack full of money.

"No problem Mikoto, I'll be back in a few hours." she confirmed, as she exited, and slid the door closed behind her.

"Ahh, Sakura is such a refreshing change." Mikoto said out loud to herself, going back to the kitchen. Her boys never truly helped her run errands. More specifically, Sasuke never did. Itachi was always too busy what with all the missions and clan meetings.

Sasuke sighed, making up his mind all at once and turning around. "Itachi" his voice seemed almost hesitant, but alas, he had to do it before he knew he would regret it, which he knew would be soon. Itachi looked up from the book he was reading on the couch, and closed it.

* * *

"Forehead, is that you?!"

Sakura turned around along with Naruto, seeing Ino walking up to them, several bags in her hands. Ino was currently wearing a long purple shirt, which could really be seen sort of like a dress, and dipped low to show cleavage. She wore a white thermal long-sleeve under, with black tights and purple boots. She had black gloves on, and her hair was up in a bun. Ino had decided it had grown too long, and that maybe she should try keeping it short for a while again.

"Ino-pig!" Sakura exclaimed happily, seeing her best friend join her on such a jolly morning.

Ino laughed, now in front of Sakura. "Lookin' good." she whistled, looking at Sakura up and down.

Sakura had a dress/shirt on similar to Ino, scratch that, _exactly _like Ino's, except it was red in color. Surprisingly enough, when their friend-aversiry approached, they had given themselves the same exact thing, besides the color. They did always state they had the same fashion sense, and that both shirts were absolutely adorable. Instead of black, Sakura wore full length green tights, which she had previously gotten from Lee years back on Christmas. Though she had never really liked tights and such, excluding the short ones she wore in her ninja outfit, she didn't want it to seem like she underappreciated the gift. Sakura also had a white long-sleeve underneath her dress/shirt, but it had ruffles, and it popped out on top of her red shirt.

She completed the look with her black gloves, and a simple gold necklace.

Sakura giggled. "Just a little something i threw together this morning. Gotta love the Christmas time. Gives you the best excuse to wear Lee's ridiculous spandex tights though i must admit, they keep you very cozy. You're looking very adorable yourself pig." she laughed heartily.

"Oh I know!" Ino exclaimed. "I wore Lee's spandex suit yesterday, but i added a red mini-skirt and that adorable black tee Temari got me on my birthday last year. Of course, i did trim the length of the sleeves and the legs, mini-skirt with full length tights totally do not go." Ino had a horrid expression on her face. "And you should have seen the look in Lee's face when he saw me wearing it. He looked ecstatic!" she exclaimed. "Everyone must have thought his jumpsuit was unattractive and totally useless, that's why." Ino frowned slightly.

"Imagine the look he'd have on his face if he sees _me _wearing it." even Naruto had to stiffle a laugh at Sakura's comment, though he didn't comprehend much of the girl talk. He himself had loved Lee's generous thought of buying him a present, which contained the green spandex jumpsuit as well.

"No kidding" Ino laughed. "So what brings you here today?" Ino asked.

"I had some last minute shopping I had to take care of. I needed Sasuke, Naruto, Tsunade-shishou, Kakashi-sensei, you, and many more people." Sakura laughed cheerily, holding up the few bags she had in her hand.

"Ooh, well I hope you wouldn't mind if I took a peek to see what you got so far." Ino inched closer to Sakura's bags, but she swiftly hugged them to her chest protectively.

"That'd ruin the surprise pig!" Sakura glared.

"Oh fine" Ino whined. "Hey, I'll catch you all later. I still need to make sure they don't run out of that yummy pork they have on sell. I was planning on dining with Shikamaru and Chouji at Shikamaru's place today, and I'll be damned if we run out of food because of Chouji." Ino glared at nothing in particular.

Sakura laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow pig?" Sakura said suggestively.

"Oh definitely!" she squealed. "Who'd miss out on _that?_" she asked before she briefly hugged Naruto and Sakura, and then left to take care of bussiness.

"What's tomorrow?" Naruto asked absentmindedly. Seriously, all this talk about _tomorrow _was making him feel rather left out.

"You didn't know?" Sakura asked surprised as she went inside a liquor store. Naruto only stared at her oddly for a few seconds before he entered. She made her way to the counter, and waited patiently for someone to help her out.

"Know what?" Naruto frowned, appearing right next to her.

"Mikoto is throwing a huge holiday party. Everyone we know is invited, and they're supposed to bring all their gifts to put under the tree. Later that night we pass them all out and open it." Sakura explained bluntly. "Why do you think Mikoto got such a large tree?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, staring at Naruto. "We obviously don't want the pile of presents devouring the tree." Sakura smiled.

Naruto "oh"ed in response.

"How may I help you today?" the clerk asked.

"Umm yes, I'm here to pick up an order for... Mikoto Uchiha." Sakura guessed. In the list, it just said to pick up an order of rather costy wine, and other precious beverages.

"Ahh yes, rather generous she was." the clerk began, turning around and going in to a room. "Came here just the other day wishing to order sparkling ciders and several fine wines." he added, coming back with several bottles. "We didn't have all of them ready, and I told her it'd be ready by tomorrow. She said it'd be even better, for she couldn't possible be able to carry it all by herself. Said she'd get someone much more capable to pick em' up."

And the number of bottles just kept piling up.... Sakura glowered, her forehead creasing. "No wonder... it'd take her forever to carry all of this."

Naruto whistled. "No wonder, what with you're inhuman strength you'd be able to carry it all in one sweep." Naruto grinned.

"I'd probably spill several in the process, Naruto." Sakura rolled her eyes. "I might be strong, but I only have 1 body with 2 hands." she glared. That was when an idea popped in her head. It seemed even Naruto got an idea. They looked at each other mischeviously.

"Sir, bag em' all. We'll take them in one." she answered.

"Ye' sure?" the clerk seemed almost hesitant in giving two children so much.

Sakura nodded, slapping money on the counter. "Hurry please, I have a busy schedule."

The clerk sighed, but nodded and got to work, bottling 3-4 wines in every bag.

"Naruto, you finished shopping right?" Sakura asked.

"Yup! I only needed you, Hinata-chan, and Sasuke-teme." Naruto chirped.

"Well then, you'll go deliver these with the clones and you can stay there. I wouldn't want to bore you to death with all my shopping." she explained.

"You sure Sakura-chan? I wouldn't mind..." he trailed off.

"Nonsense Naruto. I'm sure you'll need extra time wrapping said presents." Sakura laughed.

Naruto pouted. "Fine" he muttered. Gosh, she didn't need to make fun of him. A simple "That's okay Naruto, I got this" would have been good for him.

"Sorry Naruto" she laughed.

"Ready" the clerk said.

Naruto was about to make some hand signs, but Sakura interrupted. "That's okay Naruto, I'd rather the wines get there in one piece, no offense." she shrugged.

"None taken, you're totally right." Naruto said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Sakura laughed. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" she mutered, and 6 exact replicas of herself appeared in a puff of smoke. They each grabbed a single bag, leaving one for Naruto himself.

"Bye Naruto, makes sure you don't break any." Sakura warned him, before he nodded and grabbed the last bag, and he and all 7 Sakura's made their way out of the store. The real Sakura accompanied him for a few minutes, until they parted ways and Naruto was left with only 6 Sakuras...

Sakura sighed as she watched Naruto leaving, and he tripped and almost fell. She rolled her eyes, trusting her clones to make sure nothing happened to the wines.

_'Now for Sasuke-kun's present.' _Sakura thought, taking an unexpected turn in the street and entering a shop as a small bell ran after she opened the door. A scroll shop, more specifically.

"Good evening, how can i help you to- Ahh, Sakura." the woman running the store greeted.

"Good evening Zumi." Sakura greeted.

"I have the scroll you pre-ordered." Zumi replied, turning around to search for a scroll. "Here it is." she smiled.

"Thanks! You don't know how hard I've been searching for that scroll." Sakura sighed.

"Well, it _is _quite pricey and expensive." Zumi said unsurely.

"I know. That's why it's perfect." Sakura smiled. "How much, I got paid just last week." Sakura had a smug look on her face. Hauling Christmas trees and heavy objects for people really was a good way to get more money. Plus the extra signing-bonus Tsunade was giving every Chunin, Jounin, and ANBU. She was sort of glad Naruto had made Chunin a few months ago. He'd probably be as poor as ever. But then again, he had been doing a few extra deeds every now and them with his Clones to earn bonuses too.

Like how he got paid 500 yen **($5.00) **an hour for putting up this old ladies Christmas lights on her house. And how he was sent to pass out the Christmas party invitations for Mikoto. As Naruto had said, "Easiest 100 bucks of my life!".

And yes, it truly was, considering Naruto had gotten it done in less than 5 minutes, what with his shadow clones to do most of the work, though he had made sure he delivered one personally to Hinata. Of course poor lover-boy wouldn't pass up the chance to visit his dear girlfriend, now would he?

"Okay, that'd be 3,000 yen **(about $300)**." Zumi replied, handing Sakura the delicate, almost ancient looking scroll.

"Wow, you're right, it is pricey." Sakura whistled, examining the scroll, and picking it up with delicate hands.

"Not pricey enough for a Christmas present apparently." Zumi chuckled.

"Well, only the best, for the best." Sakura giggled lightly.

"Who's the lucky fellow to recieve this?" Zumi asked.

"Oh, just an Uchiha." Sakura muttered, not paying too much attention to what she was saying. "Been teammates with him for about 4 years now." Sakura continued.

"Wait, you don't mean _Sasuke _Uchiha, do you?" Zumi said eagerly.

"Yup, the one and only arrogant, air-headed, stubborn, hunk of Uchiha meat." Sakura responded, putting the scroll down, happy with her purchase. "This is perfect!" Sakura exclaimed.

"How about I give you 10 percent off? A favorite costumer discount." Zumi winked.

"That'd be great Zumi-chan!" Sakura squealed. That would just give her more money to spend on somebody _else's _present. It'd be a _big_ understatement if she said she had a lot of money for Christmas presents. She had started saving up after Halloween.

"Okay, that'd be 2700 yen **($270) **please." Zumi said, taking the scroll, wrappint delicately, and then putting it in a bag, and giving it to Sakura.

Sakura paid the money, taking the scroll gratefully, and exiting the small shop, making his way to a jewelry store next. She made a mental check list in her mind. Now she needed Ino, Hinata, and....

_'What about Itachi?' _the thought made her frown.

Truthfully, she didn't know Itachi that well, and she really doubted she actually knew what he liked, besides books. But she figured he already had enough of those. And what about ninja weapons and scrolls? She doubted that'd be a good gift, why?

Because, be rational. He was the heir of the Uchiha Clan, so many people must have given him presents the past few years, which could have mostly made up of money, ninja tools, scrolls, and anything else ninja-related. She heard last year that Itachi stated he wished for no more gifts, for he found them meaningless.

A shiver crawled up Sakura's spine. He probably only said that because he was tired of all the gifts, which he probably didn't like anyway. Sakura noted by the way Sasuke talked about Itachi that he seemed to get the job done flawlessly, making sure his teammates didn't have a scratch on them. But she had always noted _he did_. That must've meant he cared more for people than he did for himself.

Also, she seriously doubted Itachi was getting anything for _her,_ not that she honestly cared. It was nice to share the love, and to say she got a lot would be an understatement as well. She even got gifts from people she hardly _knew,_ such as fan boys, and some medics she worked with at the hospital, or some people she trained to be medic-nins.

Itachi wouldn't recieve any gifts from anyone, besides maybe Kakashi, Mikoto, Hana, and maybe the small possibility of Sasuke. Because honestly, they were the only people who truly knew him, and had the slightest idea of what he actually _liked._

So what was she to do?

Sakura was running out of time. She had already bought everyones presents, and she only needed to pick up the jewelry she had pre-ordered for her besties. She had already taken care of TenTen and Temari a few days earlier.

She had given TenTen these adorable ornate kunais, great for seduction missions. They were meant to be for the hair, and they looked nothing like kunai, just very adorable accessories. She got that at a half-off sale, for 1,000 yen **($100)**, She had actually gotten 3 sets of those. One for herself, one for TenTen, and one for Temari. They were absolutely adorable, and she heard they were selling **fast,** so she had to take advantage of it. Sakura bought TenTen the red and silver one, with a dragon shap alongside it, while Temari got a fiery red and black. She bought herself a silver and pink one, with cherry blossoms on it. Hey, was it really wrong to buy _yourself _a little something every once in a while?

Sakura didn't even realize she was already inside the shop until the owner shouted out her name, eager to see one of his favorite customers. What can he say, she always comes around in the holidays, and whenever a birthday comes around. He had even decided to give Sakura a 40 percent discount, yeah, think how much the regular price would have been!

"Sakura! So good to see you! I have just finished making your design!"

"Really? It came out good?" Sakura asked, putting the Itachi subject aside.

"It came out good? It came out magnificent!" the jeweler said. "That desigs you created were great!"

Sakura blushed from the praise. "Well, I wanted to make sure the gifts were good enough for my best buddies." she announced.

"Trust me, they'll love it Sakura-san." the jeweler insisted.

"Well if you insist.... May I see them?" Sakura asked the jeweler.

"Yes, I'll be right out with them." and he left for a few minutes, leaving Sakura to ponder about her gifts, and partly Itachi.

She had designed the jewelry specifically for Hinata and Ino, mixing in their likes and putting them in the jewelry. In Ino's, she had put a gorgeous purple emthyst, in the shape of her favorite flower, and surrounded it by small diamonds, in a thin gold chain. She had a feelings Ino would absolutely adore it, well. hopefully. After it, it was Ino's favorite color, considering she always wore it in her ninja gear, and it was no secret Ino absolutely _loved_ jewelry.

For Hinata, Sakura had chosen peach-orange topaz jewels in the shape of a sun, whose rays were somewhat swirled. The sun was surrounded by small aquamarine jewels, and had a thin gold chain, same as Ino's. Now, Sakura had many reasons for picking these specific colors; blue and orange. First of all, these were complimentary colors, so they would look good together no matter what. Second of all, Sakura knew for a fact that orange and blue were Hinata's favorite colors. Blue had been her favorite color for years, and Hinata had once stated she was starting to really like orange. Sakura always thought it was because whenever you saw orange, you were _bound _to see Naruto; it made perfect sense to her. And as for the finaly reason, Hinata's last name, Hyuga, meant 'Towards the Sun' and Hinata, meant 'Sunny Place. And with a sunny, bright, orange sun, there was bound to be clear blue skies as well, right?

"Here they are" the man came back with to long blue boxes. He set them down on the counter, and then proceeded to open them.

Sakura gasped in complete awe. "Takaharu-san! They look amazing!" Sakura praised him.

"It was your beautiful design Sakura-san, I can't rake all the credit." he insisted.

"May I?" Sakura asked, as if asking if she could examine them more closely.

"Of course!" he assured.

Sakura picked them up, examining them with a fine eye. "I must say, these are truly spectacular Takaharu-san! Your craftsmanship has really outdone itself this time!" Sakura couldn't stop staring at the pure beauty of the jewelry in front of her. Okay, Hinata and Ino would absolutely _love _this, she was sure of it.

"It's only because of the great effort you put into making it a great beauty. A jewler knows true fine art when he sees it. Your designs were speaking to me Sakura-san." he assured.

"Well let's not waste time praising each other, trying to see who's the one responsible for this fine art. I'll take it!" Sakura squealed in delight.

"I'll get right on it Sakura-san!" Takaharu said, taking the boxes with the necklaces, and closing them. He then proceeded to bag them, and then went to his register. "That'll be 6,000 yen **($600) **Sakura-san." the jeweler snapped her out of her thoughts.

Sakura eagerly paid for them, and was almost out the door before the thought of Itachi popped back in her head again. Even when busy oggling the jewelry, Itachi and what possible gift she could give him had been in her mind the whole time.

_'Ugghh, I can't believe I'm doing this.'_ Sakura thought, almost not believing she was about to do this.

"Takaharu-san, I don't mind if I have to pay extra, but..." Sakura was hesitant as she turned back around, seeing Takaharu lift up his round glasses and stared at Sakura. "I have another small favor, and I need it done before tomorrow." Sakura frowned.

"My, that is a big request, Sakura-san." Takaharu seemed surprised.

"I know it's just... a last minute present, I guess you can say." Sakura frowned.

"Well," Takaharu folded his hands in front of him. "Do you have an idea?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes indeed I do"

After Sakura gave him a small description about it, and even drew a very detailed picture in a short time, Takaharu couldn't help but frown.

"Well I have to say, this is much simpler than the other two, but getting it done in a day is... well..." Takaharu didn't finish his sentece; the silence said enough.

"Well, thank you for all you have done anyway, Takaharu-san. I should've known it wasn't possible, I'm obviously asking way too much of you, getting a while other necklace finished in one day." Sakura shook her head. "Thank you, and Merry Christmas." Sakura turned around to leave.

Takaharu frowned, staring at the clock on his wall. It read 12:38. "S-Sakura-san" he seemed almost hesitant to respond. "I-If you come by, around 11:30, I think I might be able to get it done." Sakura literally froze in her steps, turning around in hope.

"Seriously?" Sakura asked, an incredulous smile appearing on her face.

Takaharu smiled. "Would I joke about creating a whole new master piece?" he joked.

"Oh Takaharu-san! You're the best! You are a true magnificent jeweler" Sakura ran and gave Takaharu a big bear hug, meanwhile he rubbed the back of his neck because of all the praise.

"Well, you are one of my favorite customers, Sakura-san." he smiled as he let her go.

"Ughh, you have officially become my Christmas Angel Takaharu-san!" Sakura could now perfectly imagine him with a halo on his head, a white rob, and pure white wings on his back.

"Well I wouldn't call myself an angel...." he drawled on. "More like a miracle worker."

They both laughed at the comment.

"Well, I better get going, I have a big list to finish." Sakura sighed.

"Still Christmas shopping?" Takaharu asked.

Sakura nodded. "I just need to buy a quick gift for Mikoto-san, and then i must run some errands for her." Sakura explained.

"Ahh, the big Christmas party?"

"Yeah, it's that famous, huh?" Sakura said.

"Sure is, but don't let me delay you. After all, I should get started on the gift for the unsuspecting Uchiha." Takaharu winked.

Sakura laughed. "Good bye Takaharu-san" Sakura said as she exited the store.... _finally. _A part of her told her if she stayed there any longer she might end up even buying _Fugaku _a present. Geez, what was wrong with her? The mere thought made her feel odd. The only people to truly give Fugaku any presents were the Clan Elders, Mikoto, Sasuke, and the occasional Uchiha, not that their presents mattered to much to him anyway.

Once out of the shop, she entered another one, buying Mikoto a red scarf with holiday decorations, such as Christmas trees, mistle toes, and such, and matching red gloves. She had noticed earlier Mikoto was in need of those, when they were Christmas caroling for 2 minutes. Mikoto always insisted for Sakura to not go too over-board with her present, because she knew just how crazy Sakura could go every year. How did she know? She did the same thing as well.

So initially, Sakura had agreed, on the fine terms that Mikoto never went over-board either, which she had thankfully kept her promise to.

All Sakura needed to do now was finish up with Mikoto's errands, which she was glad to do, for it took her mind off of Itachi's present. Seriously, she couldn't help it. If Takaharu did not manage to finish it on time, then what was the point of giving it to him as a Christmas present? But then again, Sakura trusted Takaharu with all her might, for he had always been the jeweler she would go to, for over 4 years now, ever since she had enough money to actually _afford _the jewelery in there.

And once Sakura was done with the errands, she took a slow walk home, deciding she really didn't want to look at Itachi square in the face.

Unfortunately though, he was he first thing she saw opening the door at the compound. And they were only a few inches apart too. The sudden shock almost made Sakura drop the hundreds of bags she had been carrying for over 30 minutes now. And Itachi, being the skilled person he was, managed to notice.

"In need of some assistance, Sakura?" he offered.

Sakura was contemplating on whether to say no or not, but complied, deciding that she would indeed drop everything in 2 seconds if she didn't recieve some help.

Itachi took most of the bags and gave Sakura passage to enter inside, and Sakura only mumbled a quick thanks, entering and going straight to the kitchen, her head hanging low either in embarassment, or to hide her blush. She could only pray to her Christmas Angel, Takaharu, that he didn't see it.

Once there, Sakura expected Itachi to leave; he never stayed in any place for too long if he was no longer needed. But he didn't leave, and Sakura sighed mentally.

"Is there something I can help you with, Itachi-san?" Sakura asked, as she started to unbag all of the things Mikoto had made her buy. The bag filled with the Christmas gifts were on the kitchen table, resting neatly.

"Hn"

Sakura "ugghh"ed mentally. She was hoping she didn't have to get into any certain conversation with him, especially not now. The fact that she had bought Itachi a Christmas present was starting to really get to her, don't ask her why.

"Was it enough?"

"Ehh?" Sakura momentarily stopped and looked up at him, confused by his question.

"I spent the remaining of the day yesterday following your advice and getting in with the Christmas Spirit, as Kaa-san puts it. Do you think it was enough, to please Sasuke, I mean." he began, now sitting down on a chair next to the dozens of bags.

"Oh you mean that!" Sakura let out a small chuckle, mostly laughing at herself for being so dumb. "I think you did a remarkable job Itachi-san, even though our Christmas caroling was ruined." she sighed in pity. "I have to say, something about having you here seems to brighten Sasuke's spirits dramatically, though most wouldn't really notice." Sakura began to put all the chapagnes, sparkling ciders, and wines in the fridge.

"I too noticed he seemed to part-take in the activites more." Itachi agreed, nodding slightly.

Sakura exhaled happily. "I'd really like to thank you for taking the time to do that. You're probably very busy and all so..." Sakura paused for a few seconds. "It really means a lot to me." she smiled brightly.

"Actually, I get relieved of my duties on Christmas times." Itachi began, playing around with one of the bags on the table.

Sakura froze, turning around slowly. "You mean.... you have.... What do you even _do _up there?!" Sakura almost shouted in astonishment, putting the empty bags down on the counter. She had this amused smile on her face.

"Read"

"What the... but thats....Don't you get _bored_?" Sakura exclaimed in shock. "I mean, I _know _it gets boring reading How to Heal Complex Bone Fractures over, and over, and over. Tsunade-shishou made me do it until I memorized every single line." Sakura drauled on, rolling her eyes.I mean seriously? Who could lock themselves up in their room for 7 hours and just... **read?! **Oh, wait, he could, apparently.

"You took notice of the book I was reading?" he asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

"Oh come on Itachi, it's hard to not notice you when everyone is having fun and you're sitting on the sofa with coffee in one hand, reading."

Itachi merely shrugged.

"Don't you, I don't know, _get bored?_ Don't you want some excitement, and adventure, or _something _to do at least?" Sakura asked, half glaring.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "S-Class Missions aren't enough?"

Sakura face visibly paled slightly. She had only been on S-Class mission twice in her entire life, and they were things she didn't ever want to do again.

Her first had been when she had gone to Suna to heal Kankuro from the new poison he had come in contact with. Initially, it had been an A-ranked mission, for she _was _only supposed to heal Kankuro, but she had denied sitting behind while Gaara was off in the hands of Akatsuki. Tsunade had decided to change it to S-Class for her, for she had successfully defeated _an S-Class criminal_. That had been one of the most terrifying moments of Sakura's life, but she was glad to hear Gaara had come back safe and sound.

**(A/N: They didn't capture his Jinchuuriki!!!)**

But then again, Gaara probably only came back alive because Itachi had accompanied Kakashi and Naruto, and they had gotten there on time.

Her last and most recent S-Class Mission, had been when she, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai had infilrated Orochimaru's lair. They had barely gotten out alive, considering Naruto had gone in an enraged state with the Kyuubi, and Kakashi had used up all his strengths restraining him. Sasuke had been Orochimaru's specific target, unknown to the bunch, and he had almost gotten captured. They got out alive because Sai had created a large ink bird and carried them out, while Sakura literally busted walls to create a path for them.

Yup, it had been that serious.... supposedly, that lair had been long-sice abandoned, so told by a spy they had working under cover. He must have been a double-agent, considering Orochimaru had been there, waiting for them.

Sakura shivered at the thought. "Good point" she ended that conversation, considering she didn't want to start talking about the stuff _he _must of done while on his missions.

She expected Itachi to leave now, but oddly enough, he didn't.

"Is there something else I must assist you with, Itach-san?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, as if asking what she meant.

Sakura sighed, putting some more wine bottles in the fridge. "You never stick around any more than needed to, Itachi-san. I know that for a fact. So what else can I help you with?"

Itachi stayed quiet for a few moments, before parting his lips. "What Christmas gift did you purchase Sasuke?"

Sakura almost dropped the wine bottle in her hand. She could seriously not believe her hears. She turned around slowly, almost hesitantly. "Are you telling me you want to buy Sasuke something?" she almost squealed out.

Itachi pursed his lips at the sudden high-pitch, and the bluntness of Sakura's answer. "I was considering it." he replied.

"Well, considering Sasuke really only _wants _to be stronger, you should get him something training-related." Sakura added. "Though...." Sakura added after a few long seconds, putting her index finger on her chin.

"Though...?" Itachi asked, as if telling her to continue.

Sakura chuckled. "Oh, never mind. That's hardly plausible; what was I even thinking?" Sakura was trying hard to sustain her laughter. "Like _that _could possibly happen." she muttered to herself, though Itachi heard her.

He was not amused...

"What were you suggesting?" he asked.

Sakura grabbed a random apple and leaned on the kitchen counter, elbows propped up on the smooth marble as she twirled the apple around her hand. "Well, think about it. The only reason Sasuke trains his ass off, is because he wishes to some day be as strong as you, if not stronger." Sakura took a moment to scoff. "As if that would even happen." she muttered, rolling her eyes.

At said comment, Itachi did smirk. That itself was slightly amusing. To him, anyway.

"Anyway", she continued. "For the most part, Sasuke finds you perfect. _Too perfect_. He thinks it would be impossible for you too actually mess up if anything. Which, in my opinion, it is. So, he didn't mind settling for the next best thing, which would be you not acting like a human ice-cube." she nodded, taking a bite of her apple. "So, it'd be like asking you to actually attent the Christmas Party, and actually, I don't know, talk, laugh, smile, sing Christmas Carols, open presents, things like that."

"And how would that affect Sasuke?"

"Sasuke, like any younger sibling to a prodigy, feels pressured to do as good as you do, and being the loyal, adorable little brother he is, he thinks that following in your foot steps and doing everything you do would be the best way to get to your status. So, initially, if you hardly part-take in Christmas festivities, neither will he. So when you decided to come yesterday, he felt like it was okay to enjoy himself right?" Sakura said.

Itachi gave a curt nod, as if saying he understood, and was telling her to continue.

"Now, I am _making _him attent the Christmas Party, instead of locking himself in his room like you for hours on end, so he has no choice, but I doubt he'll really do much unless I threaten him to throw him to the rabid fan girls." Sakura sighed, shaking her head in a disapproving manner. "Anyway, I'm getting side-tracked. It doesn't really matter. It's not like _you'll _be there." Sakura rolled her eyes, taking another bite of her apple.

"

"I still don't understand how you could possibly stay up in your room for hours. Most people would rather be down stairs. But then again, you're not most people." Sakura laughed.

"Are you calling me anti-social, Sakura?" he smirked.

"No, not anti-social... more just like... not a very social person." though the two meant the exact same, they seemed different to Sakura. "I wouldn't say anti-social, considering you're keeping a conversation with me as I speak, but more like, you won't talk if you don't need to." she shrugged; she didn't know if it made sense to him, but it sure meant sense to her.

"I take everything you said as a challenge." he announced.

Sakura's eye brows raised. "Oh, good. We might get somewhere with this then. Maybe I should be expecting Sasuke to actually not just stand in the corner." she grinned.

"Perhaps you should."

"Well then, I really must get going to wrap all my presents. It'll take a while." Sakura quickly grabbed her hundreds of shopping bags and exited the kitchen, planning on going to the guest room she was currently occupying.

_'I think tomorrow might be interesting.' _Sakura grinned once her back was facing Itachi.

**End of Chapter**

**Wooh, i finished! I think this chapter is quite lengthy, is it not :O i was planning to stop at 6,000 words, so i really don't understand how i got it over 8,000 *Sweat drop* X)**

**Anyway, thanks for all the reviews last chappy, really appreciate it, and i'm sorry if this chappy took too long to upload :O**

**I'd appreciate any more reviews, for they give me inspiration to update faster!!!**

**-Marzy-chan**


	3. Present

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters!**

**Chapter 3: Present**

"There, all done!" Sakura said happily as she finished wrapping the last of her presents. Well,

'_Almost last.' _ Sakura thought to herself as an image of Itachi went through her mind. Now that she had time to think about it, she had a good reason for buying him the present. Because of him, this would surely be one of the best Christmas's yet! Seriously, Sasuke would now be participating, and Mikoto had thrown the Christmas Party, so _everyone _she knew was going to be there, and oh, it was just too exquisite.

So yeah, getting Itachi a present was actually a good idea. And now, all she needed to do was wait for the time period to expire, and then she would go see Takaharu, and then bam, her last present was all done.

Sakura looked at the digital clock by her bedside. It read 1:35. So in around 10 hours and 30 minutes she should be taking off towards the store.

'_That's a lot of time to wait.' _Still, it wasn't like Sakura couldn't find something to do in the time being. It was Christmas Eve; there were _hundreds_ of things she could do to kill time for crying out loud. To begin with, Sakura grabbed a handful of her presents at a time and brought them to the living room, where the large tree was placed.

"There, now the tree doesn't look that naked." Sakura smiled brightly as she finished setting all her presents down. There were probably around 40 now, most –if not all- being the ones she bought.

Still, there was a significant bunch she could tell was from Mikoto; they had been placed there earlier that day.

Strangely enough, she hadn't seen or heard of Sasuke since breakfast. And Itachi had disappeared after their little chat too. Maybe they were out buying Christmas presents. The thought delighted her to no end, honestly. Was she the best thing that ever happened to this family or what?

Sakura entered the kitchen, and found Mikoto there already defrosting the turkey and pork. Tonight would be the family dinner, and afterwards, Mikoto and Sakura would be cooking like crazy!

"Need some help Mikoto?" Sakura asked.

"It would be much appreciated." Mikoto replied hurriedly, switching from peeling yams, to taking out marshmallows and green beans, and what not. Times like these made Sakura doubt Mikoto could handle all the pressure. After all, cooking for a family of –this year, 5- and the next day, maybe 40, could really drive someone insane.

"About tomorrow, I asked a few people to pitch in." Sakura chimed as she started to peel the yams.

"You didn't have to dear." Mikoto said as she quickly started the stove.

"Oh, but I shouldn't let you be stuck behind the kitchen while everyone is having a blast." Sakura shook her head in disagreement. "Anyway, Ino said she'd drop by around 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, and Kurenai said she'd make it by 1:00 p.m." Sakura said. "Oh, and Shizune said she might be able to make around 3:00 if it's not too late." Sakura added.

"You're a big help Sakura." Mikoto smiled brightly.

"Oh, it's no big deal Mikoto. After all, it's them helping with their services." Sakura said. It was quiet for a few moments, both women too caught up in their work to start another conversation. "Say, have you seen Sasuke or Itachi?" Sakura pondered after a while. "It's strange… they just, disappeared."

"I heard Itachi and Sasuke discussing something, though I didn't hear too much of it. Sasuke left shortly afterwards, and Itachi left after you went up to your room to wrap presents." Mikoto explained.

"Neither of them told me where they were headed. If you ask me, they're buying Fuga-kun's present." Mikoto giggled lightly.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh lightly. The day she sees _Sasuke _buy a present for Fugaku; that'd be the day. Still, this wasn't just any Christmas so anything went right? For all we know, Sasuke could at this very moment be buying _Lee _of all people a present and she wouldn't comment about it.

Of course, that was close to impossible in any other situation. Sasuke had a personal grudge against Lee ever since he got himself beat in the Chunin Exams while Lee didn't like Sasuke because Sakura used to like him; she found their dislike towards each other rather ridiculous. It wasn't as if she still liked Sasuke today; he was just a very close teammate, brother even.

Sakura and Mikoto had, for the most part, only defrosted the turkey and ham, and then they had gone off to make arrangements for the Christmas Party.

"So wait, these two tables will be moved over there along with that one?" Sakura asked.

"Let's see, move it over there." Mikoto replied, closing one eye and imagining where all the tables could go.

Sakura easily lifted both tables with one hand each, and moved them as if they were stuffed animals. She placed them down carefully, put them together neatly, and then moved back alongside Mikoto to examine her work. They were both quiet for several second.

"A little to the left." They both said in unison after a while, giggling lightly. Seriously, if people knew any better, they'd say Sakura and Mikoto were twins. It was a wonder why Sasuke never truly returned Sakura's feelings way back when. Most never understood why Sasuke had never courted Sakura. Sasuke said he was waiting for the right woman; one who took after his mom, taking care of him and his needs like there was no tomorrow. She also had to beautiful, sophisticated, intelligent, and strong (the Uchiha pride in him said there had to be strong children).

Unfortunately, most could _still_ not find why Sasuke couldn't see _that (and so much more) _in Sakura after that statement. Sasuke merely stated he knew Sakura too well to actually consider her something more than a sister. Sakura agreed; she knew Sasuke _much _too much to actually see him as a boy friend, or anything close to the sort.

In fact, it was the reason that Sasuke _did _see all the requirements in Sakura that he had to refuse to court her. His logic didn't make sense to anyone besides Sakura, who merely stated Sasuke would make a lousy husband, though she honestly thought otherwise.

Though Sasuke didn't show it, he was caring, and tended to put others before himself… the 'others' being the ones he cared about anyway. Besides, though he told Sakura otherwise, he really did like kids. He had become rather fond of Neji's newborn brother over 4 years ago, and now he felt a form of pride well up in him every time he saw little Ken (Neji personally picked the name) perform a type of ninja art. He was already in the academy, and he was a very promising student, seeing as the teachers stated it wouldn't be a surprise if he graduated early. Ken thanked Sasuke, much to Neji's profound dislike.

Anyway, though Sasuke hated to admit it (because sometimes, he saw Sakura more of a man that for what she really was), Sakura would be perfect. Thing was, she was so perfect, he looked at her almost as if she were his _mother._ And yes, how creepy would that be if you went out with someone who you saw as your mother? That itself was the sole reason that had stopped him, and if it weren't for that, he would have fallen under the pressure Mikoto had put under him to marry the poor girl.

"Oooh, yes, that's perfect dear!" Mikoto snapped her out of her thoughts. Sakura didn't even notice she had moved the tables once more until she put them down gently.

Sakura nodded as she adjusted them quickly, before she stepped back alongside Mikoto. "Ahh yes, and with that centerpiece in the middle, ooh, it'll look fabulous." Mikoto said out loud, mostly to herself.

"And what about candles?" Sakura suggested.

"Brilliant idea my dear!" Mikoto squealed with a wide grin.

The both kept rambling on about the decorations and mantles they should put on the tables, never even noticing when Sasuke and Itachi came inside. Strangely enough, they were together… and no, they didn't seem to be arguing, and they didn't even look pissed; there was something odd going on.

Too bad Sakura was much too preoccupied planning the party tomorrow that she didn't even notice a thing……

"Dinner was wonderful, Mikoto." Fugaku complimented Mikoto's cooking.

"Yeah, you're the best Mikoto-kaasan." Naruto burped out, rubbing his now pregnant-looking tummy as he slowly made his way to his room.

"You should cook this fancy more often." Sasuke pitched in.

Mikoto felt overly-loved. Truly she didn't deserve such kind words. Besides, Sakura had helped her cook too. She even shared a special ingredient to make the ham and turkey taste better. "I shouldn't take all the credit. Sakura helped a lot too." Mikoto stated.

"I only told you how to prepare it," Sakura insisted "it was all you Mikoto." Sakura denied.

"Well you can't let me take all the credit." Mikoto shook her head.

"Dinner was exceptionally delicious, Kaa-san," Itachi stood up from his seat, his gaze lingering on Sakura for a few more seconds than needed to "Sakura." He complimented as well.

"Umm, thank you." Sakura said almost unsurely, an uncontrollable blush rising to her cheeks. She'd never been praised this much before. Considering it was Itachi, the words he spoke surely meant much more than what he truly he spoke, so Sakura truly felt honored. Besides, it wasn't every day Itachi complimented someone.

That was why she was currently blushing. Who wouldn't blush at a compliment from an extremely handsome man with money and power?

……Yeah, her point exactly.

Sakura and Mikoto were left to clear out the table and clean the kitchen while Naruto went to hibernate, Sasuke went to go burn some more chocolate, Fugaku went to do who knows what, and Itachi was left to go read his book about complex healings and such again.

It was 7:00, and time couldn't be ticking any slower now. What else could Sakura do, seriously? Why were Uchihas' all _boring?!_ The best she could do now was knit sweaters with Mikoto, but she'd rather not discuss how horribly she was with _that _type of needle. She was only good with the type of needle that went _in _people… and unfortunately, that always seemed to happen to someone whenever she surrounded herself with any other type of needle.

Sakura could only sigh at her misery. She was good with almost everything; if you exclude needles, and unfortunately, any sort of tools that would be seen in a surgical procedure, or anywhere near a hospital, for that matter, excluding pens… she was okay with pens…

So the closest thing to comfort for now, was settling down next to the fire place with a cup of eggnog, and reading "The Art of Genjutsu". Kurenai had recently given it to her, stating that if Sakura expected Kurenai to train her, she had to at least learn about all the simple genjutsu's in the book.

She was so into the book, she never even noticed when Itachi settled down in the couch beside her and started reading his own book, her eggnog replaced with a cup of coffee.

It must have been around 9:00 when Sakura had had enough reading; 15 chapters was enough, right? Besides, she'd have to make it seem like she went to sleep before slipping out of the house…

Sakura got up and stretched, yawning slightly.

"Going to bed?"

Sakura jumped, her book falling to the floor. "Goodness, you scared me Itachi." Sakura put a hand over her heart and inhaled deeply, trying to regain her normal breathing pattern. "When did you even come here?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow but didn't answer. "It's rather early."

"Is it?" Sakura questioned, staring at her watch, courtesy of Tsunade and Shizune last year on her birthday. "Oh, well I have to shower anyway. I also wanted to be well-rested for tomorrow." Sakura smiled, hoping Itachi would fall for it. "It's a big day you know –it only comes once a year." Sakura added.

"Ahh" he simply said.

"What about you?" Sakura questioned. "Aren't you going to bed early? I mean, if you're actually _going _to attend the party…" Sakura had an amused, almost teasing tone. "…and I can assure you the female population that has been invited will most certainly fawn…" Sakura tried hard not to laugh.

"No need to worry about me, Sakura." The way he said her name made Sakura blush, and butterflies filled her stomach.

"I-I'm not w-worried." Sakura denied, trying to hide her blush. "I was just… curious, was all."

"Very well then." Itachi said. "I'll bid you goodnight, Sakura." Itachi nodded her way.

"Umm… right…" Sakura said unsurely. "Good night Itachi." She turned around and made her way down the hallway, stopping only once when she knew Itachi wasn't looking and then turned around to glance at him once more.

What was up with him? Was he doing all of this on purpose, or something? Cornering her and asking her questions and such. Thanking her for cooking. Giving her looks for no apparent reason. Making her name roll off his tongue as if it were meant to be that way. Making his gaze linger on her a little more than needed to whenever he had a conversation with her…

'_You're being delusional Sakura.'_ Sakura assured herself.

Ugghh, boys were so complicated…

Sakura returned to her bedroom, placing her book on the side table and going to her drawers, pulling out some undergarments and a long silky light blue nightgown.

For the most part, she'd only be putting on the nightgown for a while before she put on her thick layers and went to Takaharu's jewelry shop.

And so, Sakura quickly grabbed her clothes and then headed to the bathroom, trying not to think about anything to do with Itachi. She was beginning to sound paranoid.

Sakura laid on her bed lazily, flipping a random fashion magazine she had found in the mail earlier that day. Just waiting for the time period to pass had taken a lot more than expected; seriously, curse her for taking quick showers. Still, she had gotten used to taking quick showers because not only was she the only girl in her team (and she had two mega perverts, and a semi pervert), but she always had to save some warm water for her teammates.

'_Ugghh' _Sakura mentally groaned, tired of flipping through the magazine. She tossed towards the other side of the bed, then laid on her back, staring at her wall, where the Uchiha crest stood proudly –now upside down.

She remembered the days when she dreamed every night that she would one day become Sakura Uchiha… back then, "Mrs. Uchiha" had sounded so ideal…surreal, almost. She had probably been one of the thousands of girls who had thought that too.

Now, well… she just praised the title of Mrs. Uchiha. She'd seen all the things Mikoto had to do in order to maintain the house and keep it in tip-top shape. Mikoto would hardly ever get a chance to herself, to do as she pleased, or even relax for the slightest of minutes before she had to run around and some more errands.

Saying Sasuke was slightly spoiled would be an understatement…

No wonder all Uchiha's were rather arrogant. They had been taught to do so. Still, it was rather amusing watching Sasuke and Naruto bicker back and forth.

Still, Sakura glanced at her clock. She should probably start getting ready by now…

Sakura stood up, and searched her room for her furry black coat –not the warmest of coats, but definitely the cutest- along with a red long-sleeved shirt, and some black pants. She quickly took of her nightgown and replaced it with said clothes.

Now came the hard part.

She was in a house with 4 extremely skilled ninja –would they sense she was getting out? And if they did, would they question her about it later on? What would she say?

And most importantly…

If she got caught, who exactly would it be to catch her? She strongly hoped it wasn't Itachi…

Sakura quickly slipped on her boots and stealthily opened the door to her room, peeking out of it nervously. She made sure her chakra signature was nice and relaxed, and then stepped out of her room, flicking off the light switch in her room as she did so. She then scurried down the hallway and rounded the corner.

She saw the door –boy was she glad. She had probably been over-exaggerating. Who the hell was ever up at 11:00 when it was going to be Christmas Eve tomorrow? Yeah, it made perfect sense to her now…

She exhaled a sigh of relief and made a quick dash towards it…

Only to be frozen on the spot when a lamp flickered on.

And there stood Itachi…

She tried not to flinch. Or breath, or blink, or even twitch, for that matter.

He looked at her attire warily. "hello" he greeted.

"Umm… hi I-" she stopped, her voice much too high pitched than she'd like. "Itachi." She tried not to squeak out her response again, and thoroughly cleared her throat. Why was it Itachi was catching her in weird situations all of a sudden?

"Where are you headed?" he asked.

Sakura looked around frantically for a way to escape the truth.

"I umm… was headed to the kitchen for some hot cocoa. Couldn't sleep, you see." Sakura's mouth twitched up to form a slight smile. If Itachi actually believed that, oh Kami she wouldn't know what she'd do.

"In that attire?"

All hope was lost by that point, Sakura knew. There was no _real _point in trying to lie to Itachi. When would she get that through her head?

"Umm… yeah…" Sakura said slowly. "But I also had to go out for a while." She responded, trying to regain her calm composure.

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

Sakura sighed. "I have a late-night present to get, you could say. Gotta get something from Takaharu's jewelry shop. You know, the adorable little one at the corner near the hospital?"

"Ahh"

Sakura chewed on her lip nervously. What else was she supposed to do? Just, walk away?

"What are you doing up anyway?" Sakura was just slightly curious about that.

"Just finishing up my book." Itachi lifted his book slightly.

"Oh, you mean the one you have read about 40 times already?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

Itachi smirked. "Yes" he said blatantly.

If Sakura knew Itachi any better –which she didn't- she'd say he was lying. But she didn't know how he functioned, so she couldn't be so sure…

"Right…" Sakura trailed off. "Well, I'm just gonna grab that cocoa and be off…" Sakura made means to go to the kitchen.

"How about I accompany you?"

Sakura's eyes widened. She was rather glad her back was turned to face him, or he'd know something was up.

"N-No that's quite alright Itachi." She rejected his offer nervously. "I would hate to waste your time by having you accompany me." Sakura shook her head.

"It's quite alright Sakura." He replied. "Attractive young ladies such as yourself shouldn't be out roaming around the streets at night without some form of company. It's quite dangerous."

She had a feeling Itachi wouldn't drop it. From what she knew –he never did. That is, unless it involved Mikoto.

Sakura sighed. "Well, if you put it that way." She turned around, and showed a tired smile. "I'll just get my cocoa."

Sakura turned to the kitchen and began pouring the cocoa she now desperately wanted to relieve her nerves, and watched from the corner of her eyes as Itachi disappeared from view, and came back a few minutes later with a coat now on.

Just as Sakura finished up her cocoa, Itachi approached her, as if telling her he was ready.

Sakura nodded and quickly rinsed her cup out, and then followed Itachi to the door.

It was really cold out, much to Sakura's displeasure. Sure she loved the snow, but she didn't exactly favor the chilliness. And she had only brought a thin coat too… well, she'd survive until she reached Takaharu's.

Itachi had been right, much to her displeasure. It was deserted for the most part, only a few wanderers left here and there near alleyways…

She unknowingly inched closer to Itachi the slightest bit. Though she really despised Itachi for always being right, she was mighty thankful he had insisted to go with her.

It was a twenty minute walk.

And Sakura definitely didn't want it to be an awkward, silent one either. So, she tried to initiate some form of conversation.

"So… nice night, right?"

'_Yeah, that was a superb conversation starter, Sakura!'_ she tried not to slap herself, and decided to just smile nervously at Itachi.

Itachi nodded slightly, looking up at the sky. "It is a great a view."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and looked up at the sky. Whoa, she hadn't even noticed it looked so… breath-taking. She couldn't help but let out a small gasp. The way the silent and dark trees surrounding Konoha, along with the light snow, seemed to mix with the dark oblivion that was the dark sky with speckles of light seemed beyond perfect.

"It makes me feel small." Sakura smiled slightly.

"You are small."

Sakura's eye twitched. It might've been her, but she could have _sworn _she heard amusement and mockery in his tone.

She looked up at him, and glared. His tallness wasn't helping her either…

She knew she wasn't the tallest of people but he didn't have to make fun of her, geez. Even Hinata was taller than her, being able to peek from the top of her head.

"Whatever" Sakura snapped, huffing her cheeks. "I might be small, but I pack a big punch."

And Itachi could most definitely not deny that –he had seen her training with Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi had insisted he see how much Sasuke had improved with his Chidori.

Let's just say, it took about two months to reconstruct the forest thanks to Sakura –and partly Naruto's Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori- but mostly Sakura.

"Yes, your strength is exceptionally well." Itachi agreed.

Sakura smiled triumphantly.

"But there's nothing wrong with being… rather short."

Sakura pouted. "I am not short." She rejected. Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Everyone's just… _tall."_ She concluded hesitantly playing with her fingers the way Hinata used to do back in the days.

Sakura could have sworn she almost heard a small cackle from the ice cube right next to her. "Hey, it's not funny." She scowled.

"Your size is adequate for your figure." Itachi changed the subject.

Was he trying to make fun of her again? He was either stating it high-lighted her other features, or it just fit with everything. In other words, she had no chest, or rear. Which she did, in her opinion.

"I brings out your other features."

Okay, much better. So it had been meant to be a compliment.

Sakura stifled a small laugh. "Is that a compliment?"

"Perhaps" Itachi shrugged her comment off with a simple smirk, and a side-glance her way.

Sakura rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "You know, you're a pretty cool guy Itachi."

Itachi momentarily caught off guard, raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I mean, from what I've heard," Sakura began, trying to defend herself, "you're more of the serious, quiet, and intelligent people." Sakura paused momentarily as she quickly rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them up. "But there's a lot more to you than everyone says." She added.

"Like?" Itachi questioned.

"Well, for starters," Sakura began, "You have a sense of humor, be it a rather teasing one." She tried not to scowl. "You're also quiet, but it's because you think about a lot of stuff –thoughtful, I guess you can say." Sakura shrugged. "You're also extremely kind, in my opinion. You wouldn't go as far as making yourself uncomfortable for the sake of Sasuke if you weren't nice."

"Well, this isn't entirely for Sasuke." Itachi replied. "I'm sure Kaa-san would find this rather refreshing." He responded, answering her unspoken question. "This Christmas also seems rather important to you too. Is it not?"

Sakura blushed slightly. Was she that easy to read? "Well… this _is _the first Christmas I'll spend with my team." Sakura smile slightly as she pictured Sasuke and Naruto. "They're extremely obnoxious and aggravating, but there's just something about them…" Sakura trailed off.

"Can't live with them, can't live without them, I guess you can say." She looked up and smiled a genuine smile at Itachi. "I've just been with them for too long, I guess."

Itachi contemplated her answer. True, he too sometimes wished his mother would get off his back about his peculiar work habits, and about Sasuke always annoying him, stating he was now ready to defeat Itachi in battle, but who knew what he would have become without their constant annoyance too.

Without Mikoto forcing him to take a small vacation every now and then, he would probably be extremely sleep-deprived, and overworked. And without Sasuke, well, he would have probably never had something to look forward to, waking up early in the mornings when he was fifteen.

And Shisui helped a lot too. Maybe that was where he got his teasing sense of humor, as Sakura put it.

Oh yes, that was most certainly a possibility.

"I see the logic."

"You do?" Sakura seemed surprise. "Most people say they're surprised I haven't killed them yet, and I'm slightly insane for not doing so already." Sakura sighed.

"True Naruto and my brother can be a… special case," he paused to smirk, "but there are certain attributes that make their company rather refreshing."

"Yeah" Sakura nodded her head. "Of course, most only see as far as Sasuke's good looks and his annoying composed self, and Naruto, being almost the exact opposite." Sakura shook her head in dismay. "I still can't believe how such opposites could be such good friends –best friends even."

Well, it had happened to Shisui and himself, so Itachi couldn't entirely judge…

Time had gone fast, for Sakura had found herself in front of Takaharu's jewelry store in no time.

And here's the hard part…

Sakura heard the familiar jingle of the bells as she opened the door of the jewelry shop. Takaharu was standing over his desk.

"Greetings Takaharu-san." She chimed.

"Oh, hello Sakura-san!" he exclaimed as he looked up. He stared at Itachi curiously as he stood a few steps behind Sakura, near the doorway.

"That's Itachi _Uchiha._" She really did hope she understood why he emphasized the name. Takaharu knew the present was for an Uchiha, just not which one specifically.

Takaharu blinked, and understood almost immediately. "Ahh, hello Uchiha-sama." Of course, this was Itachi here –sama would be the only proper thing to say.

"Did you finish my order?" Sakura asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did." Takaharu dropped his pen excitedly and hurried over to his desk, where a long jewelry box was closed. He quickly grabbed it and rushed back to Sakura. "Should I wrap it and go?" he questioned.

"Yeah" Sakura smiled gingerly.

Takaharu quickly grabbed a tiny little bag and stuffed the jewelry box in there, and then handed it to Sakura.

Meanwhile, Itachi was walking around the store curiously, looking at all the jewelry. If he remembered correctly, this is the same store he had bought Mikoto her present –a beautiful diamond necklace, surrounded by a 14 k sterling silver heart and chain. It had been rather pricey, but nothing was ever too good for his dear mother.

"Itachi, I'm ready to go."

Itachi looked up from the jewelry, and nodded at Sakura. He glanced at Takaharu with a stoic expression.

"Ahh yes," Takaharu spoke up. "Before I leave, would you kindly help me reach a jewelry box high up?" Takaharu asked. "This old man is losing his touch." He frowned.

"Certainly Takaharu-san." Sakura chirped.

"Actually, I'm afraid you might be a little too short yourself." Takaharu tried not to laugh nervously. If there was one thing he knew, it was that the young Haruno did not like comments about her small size.

"Of course, Takaharu-san." Itachi agreed, as he made his way behind the counter.

"Right this way then." Takaharu took him to a door behind him that opened to reveal many more boxes of jewelry –most empty, some reserved- and things like that. They turned a small corner and Sakura left to stare at all the jewelry alone for a few minutes.

"Shall we go, Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes snapped away from the jewelry. "Y-Yeah" he had startled her slightly –he always seemed to do that, much to her displeasure.

"Thank you Itachi-sama." He nodded his way.

"It was my pleasure." Itachi responded.

Sakura didn't know why, but she felt like there was a hidden meaning to their little chat. Sakura shrugged it off, thinking maybe she was being paranoid again –she seemed to be doubting herself a lot when near Itachi. It was probably because he was so smart, he could twist her own thoughts (maybe if he tried hard enough he could twist reality too… Sakura seemed to think so)

Sakura cursed under her breath. It had grown colder while they were in the small jewelry store.

Why oh why had she decided to look cute? Why hadn't she decided to be _warm?!_ She tried not to shiver, but her teeth just _wouldn't_ _stop shaking. _It was unavoidable.

"Cold?" Itachi asked from the sidelines.

"Nahh, I'm hot." She rolled her eyes. Was her chattering teeth, goose-bumpy skin, and blu-ish self not enough proof?

Itachi didn't reply, but settled for a small smirk. This girl was definitely amusing –not many had the guts to talk back to him; even playing around or joking seemed like something no one should ever do. This girl had guts –he liked that.

Minutes later, Sakura could've sworn she felt five pounds heavier. She blinked, and noticed Itachi's own black coat was now on her shoulders –and they were looking darn mighty inviting at that point.

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but won't you be cold?" Sakura scowled.

"Fire-affinity" he simply answered as he let Sakura examine his arm. As soon as a single snow-flake landed on it, it would sizzle and melt, and eventually evaporate away.

"Lucky bum." Sakura muttered under her breath, now taking his coat whole-heartedly. Now that she knew he didn't need it, she didn't feel the slightest but guilty of taking his coat.

Why'd he even bring his coat of he didn't need it?!

"Mmm?" Itachi said, as if telling her to repeat her previous statement.

"I said thank you." Her smile twitched slightly.

"No need." He replied smugly.

'_Last time I ever thank him.' _She refrained from snorting. '_Just watch Itachi. There will once be a day when my water-affinity will have the upper hand. It'll be really hot outside… yeah…' _Sakura already began scheming…

The walk back to the house was much quicker than Sakura had expected; maybe they had picked up the pace or something?

Sakura didn't actually mind it one bit. She was tired, and really didn't want to be half asleep when it was time for the party. Besides, she still had to wrap up the little box. And not to mention she didn't like giving Itachi the satisfaction of knowing she was cold –curse his coat for being all cozy. It was probably all warm because Itachi had warmed it up with his body heat.

Yeah, it even smelled like him too…

"Good night Itachi." She waved at him as they reached the her room. She took off the coat and handed it back to him.

"Good night, Sakura." He received his coat, nodded at her, and continued his way down the hallway until he reached his room. Sakura watched as he disappeared in the darkness and heard his door shut close.

Sakura finally let out a sigh of relief as she tossed the small bag on her bed and a second later, she was right next to it, taking in the softness of her bed.

That had been truly horrible –Sakura kept thinking maybe Itachi was onto her –that he knew she had crept out of the house (and not so skillfully either) and went to buy a present just for him. If he ever found out, well, she'd probably die of embarrassment. Seriously, who ever went to such great lengths to buy a present for someone who declared he never wants any to begin with?

Sakura decided to wrap the present early tomorrow, and quickly stripped her clothes off (and cursed at her thin but oh-so adorable coat for not doing its job and warming her up) and put on the same night gown she had on earlier.

Finally laying back down on her bed, blankets up to her chest and night lamp off, she closed her eyes momentarily and sighed in bliss.

Seconds later, she opened them up again, her nose catching an unfamiliar scent.

Great… she still smelled like Itachi…

(Not that there was anything wrong with that –he had a scent that was good enough to eat)

Sakura mentally groaned.

Sakura had a good reason for groaning out loud last night –a very good reason. She had dreamed of Itachi all last night!

Training with Itachi

On a mission with Itachi (Sasuke and Shisui included, much to Sakura's great pleasure)

Healing Itachi in the hospital (Shizune had been there too, thankfully)

And the first one of all… On a dinner date with Itachi.

The thought sent shivers down Sakura spine as she swung her legs off her mattress and slowly stood up, yawning and stretching the tendons in her arms.

She decided to shower once again after very little thought. (There wasn't much to decide on, really.)

She needed Itachi's scent off of her. Frankly, if she was stuck with it all day, she might just go mad –and it would probably be because the scent was just so addicting, you needed more.

She knew she had taken a shower not even nine hours ago, but it had to go. Naruto had a very sensitive sense of smell. And knowing the nosy, sneaky guy he was, he would try to investigate, and h would not let it drop until he knew the whole story. And he would probably even tell Sasuke!

And the last thing she needed was to have Sasuke on her case.

"What were you doing at twelve o'clock in the morning, out with Itachi at who knows where while having his jacket on?"

She could already imagine his question –and even his face expression and anger.

Though he didn't like to admit it, he was very protective of Sakura –like all the rest of Team 7. Sakura had highly doubted that in the past, but then there were few… occurrences, that proved her wrong.

Like the one time she had gone on a simple dinner date with Watari, another doctor-in-training in the hospital. He had only been one year and a half older than herself, and that had been when she was fourteen. Unfortunately, his birthday came before hers, so he had actually sixteen.

"We're boys, we know what boys want." Naruto exclaimed, angered when the gossip had spread as far as Ichiraku's.

"I was sixteen once Sakura, trust me, it's not a pretty thing what goes on in a young, immature, _perverted _boy's mind." Kakashi agreed.

They had cornered Sakura in the library, while she was looking up medical text books and such.

"Hn" Sakura thought Sasuke had looked like he wasn't even one bit interested in her romantic life.

"I know how to take care of myself." Sakura had replied. "We were mainly just going to discuss how progress in the hospital was going. And now if you will excuse, I'd rather not get banned from the hospital. This is the only place I can be without finding _you_ pea brains."

Sakura had shoved passed them with a chakra-laced shove.

Later that day she found herself walking to the restaurant with Watari, and she could _swear _she was seeing creepy shadows behind her –and she could've sworn she had heard Naruto's whine as well.

And she knew things would only get worse when she reached the restaurant.

In the end, Naruto and Sasuke had "conveniently" as they put it, bumped into them, and they insisted they all dine together.

The other time included Lee. He had insisted they have a date in a park some time. In fact, he had been insisting for about two months already. Sakura, tired of it already, had accepted, telling him her only free time was Saturday.

This time, Sakura decided to keep it on the down-low. She didn't need Naruto and Sasuke ruining _this_ date, even if it was with Lee.

The day after the date, Lee had apparently boasted about it in front of Naruto and Sasuke.

Sakura found him tied to a tree, upside, hours later. She had yelled at Naruto for doing it, but he had insisted this had been all Sasuke –Lee was much too fast for him to keep up with him.

Sakura had been extremely embarrassed both times, and had decided maybe dating just wasn't meant for her –especially when she had scary guys such as Kakashi, second youngest ANBU member, Sasuke, powerful Uchiha, Naruto, Kyuubi vessel, Sai, former ANBU Root member, and Yamato, the sole survivor of experimentations with Orochimaru.

**(A/N: I hope I got my facts straight about Yamato. If I didn't please tell me so I could correct them)**

But then again, it wasn't as if she was afraid for Itachi. She was afraid for _Sasuke. _And partly, she was afraid that what was supposed to be her best Christmas ever would be ruined, what with the younger Uchiha wanting to kill Itachi –maybe by poisoning his turkey.

Sakura gulped in fear and shook her thoughts away. No, she would not let anything go wrong. She was so close now –the Christmas party would be here in to time.

Sakura quickly grabbed some clothes and exited her room, only to bump into a strong, well-built chest.

"Merry Christmas Eve Sakura-chan!!" Naruto tackled her to the ground.

Sakura tried to not let fear etch her features, but swallowed in nervousness.

"Naruto get off of me!" she complained.

"Come on Sakura-chan! These two days are one of the only days I have a good excuse to tackle you in a bear hug." He whined.

Sakura contemplated his answer –it did make sense, for she would usually beat him to a bloody pulp if he ever did that to her in public.

Deciding why the hell not, she hugged him back, but tried to keep the greeting as minimal as possible. "Come on Naruto, I need to shower." She complained.

"Why? You smell good." Naruto buried his head into the crook if her neck, smelling Sakura's hair.

Sakura could already feel she was doomed. "This is how I always smell Naruto." She tried to say.

"Nah-uh." His reply came out muffled. "You usually smell like a mixture of green apple and flowers. Though this smell smells familiar, I can't quite put my finger on it.

Sakura couldn't be any more relieved. Yes, Naruto never spent too much time near Itachi, so of course he couldn't familiarize his smell. Still, she had to be careful. If there ever was a chance he got to recognize the scent… she didn't even want to think of the outcome. That was just how horrible it would've been.

It took Sakura a few minutes, but she had successfully pried Naruto off of her and locked herself in the bathroom and started the warm water. Well, at least that'd be all of Itachi she'd have. She couldn't handle anymore.

……

……

_Think Again_

Poor Sakura wouldn't know what hit her

**End of Chapter**

**Hey everyone! I'm sorry this took me such a long time to put up, but it's been pretty difficult here.**

**First of all, most important tests of the year have begun, and it won't finish for 2 more weeks, so I probably won't update much until that time period, though I do plan to update 2 more stories (Sakura's New Past and New Sakura) sometime during the week.**

**If I don't get to it, believe me, I am truly sorry, but there's been a lot of things going on in my family as well. Thanks to all who have read and are still reading this fic!**

**I planned to only let this fic go to ch 3, but this chapter took much longer than expected, so it will ended chapter 4, unless that takes too much too xD**

**Anyway, any and all reviews are much appreciated**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


	4. Baby Issues

**Chapter 4: Baby Issues**

Sakura, still in her pajamas, slowly creeped out of her body and peered out the door, towards the hallway.

Left, Right, Up, Down. Okay, it was all clear. She stepped outside the desserted hallway as quietly as possible.

Sakura blinked once.

"MERRY CHIRSTMAS SAKURA-CHAN!" she was already being tackled to the floor by the time she reopened them.

Once again, Sakura was tackled to the ground.

This time, she didn't complain.

Instead, she and Naruto rolled around in the hallway in fits of laughter as they began to tickle each other like there was no tomorrow.

"Merry Christmas Naruto." She giggled light-heartedly as she aimed a poke right under his right rib –that was his most ticklish spot, as she had learned several years ago.

Somebody cleared their throat. Sakura stopped mid-air another attack to his rib and looked behind her, where Sasuke stood, looking at them as if they should be put in an asylum.

Sakura, who was on Naruto, looked back at him, and they both grinned mischievously.

"MERRY CHIRSTMAS SASUKE-KUN!"

"MERRY CHRISTMAS SASUKE-TEME!"

They both chorused it at the same time as they dashed towards Sasuke and tackled _him _on the ground. Unlike what he would do every previous year, he let himself be taken down by them. Sakura thought either her plan really did work, or Naruto's and her own speed had increased dramatically. She decided on the later, because even she could tell Sasuke had enjoyed himself the previous night.

They all began a tickle fight for several minutes, until they then laid on the floor, Sakura in between her two boys, and stared at the ceiling.

"You know," Sakura began humming out. "I think it's going to be a very good day today." Sakura's smile widened.

And for once... Sasuke seemed to think the same thing.

"Merry Christmas, Otouto, Naruto, Sakura." Sakura tilted her head backwards some, until she saw Itachi's figure hovering over them, backwards of course. Immediately, Sakura flipped over and grinned.

"Merry Christmas Itachi."

Sasuke couldn't help but wonder where the '-san' after his name went, but he didn't think much of it at the time. _'He said Merry Christmas to me...' _even Sasuke had to admit he was bewildered. "Merry Christmas Itachi." he regarded Itachi with a nod as he followed Sakura's example and flipped over as well, Naruto following his example shortly afterwards.

Sakura couldn't help but notice that Sasuke's tone was much lighter than just a few days ago, and he actually seemed... _delighted _to see his brother.

Even though Itachi did not join them on the floor, he did send them all a smile (which, in a way, was good enough for Sakura. She didn't expect him to go rolling around in between Sasuke and her... come on, it was Itachi).

And hey, the smile didn't seem forced either!

"Mother wishes for your presense at the dining table for breakfast." he shortly said after Sakura smiled a smile at him, as if saying 'thanks for everything'.

"Guess we better get going then!" Naruto was the first one off his feet, followed by Sasuke, who helped Sakura up as well.

_'Oh my god! He's being courteous! Pinch me, I must be dreaming!' _Sakura smiled at Sasuke and said a quick thank you as the three of them (Itachi, Sakura and Sasuke; Naruto had left them long ago) made their way to the kitchen.

Breakfast went by rather quickly, for neither Sakura nor Mikoto really had that much time. The boys, seemingly unaware of how tiresome throwing a Christmas party could be, enjoyed their breakfast slowly, meanwhile all Sakura and Mikoto did was pop a piece of toast in their mouths and then hurried off preparing other things.

Once Sasuke, Itachi, and Naruto had finished eating (Fugaku hadn't even joined them for breakfast) Sakura got them right to work.

"Set up the tables and put the mantles and table sets neatly please." Sakura handed them each a well descriptive visual drawing of what everything should look like. "If everythings not perfect, you'll all be in trouble." Sakura give them a sweetly threatening smile. Yes, it even included Itachi, though all he did was smirk at her. "Itachi, I trust you make sure these idiots don't start fighting or break anything." Sakura gave Itachi serious a look.

Itachi nodded. "I'll restrain them."

"Good." her smile returned. "I'll see how your progress is going in a while. See ya!" And with that Sakura was gone, retreating back to the kitchen.

* * *

It was now around 12:30.

Surprisingly enough, the tables and decorations were already done, and Sakura had to admit, they looked better than she had expected. She didn't bother trying to think of a good explanation for why though. Maybe Itachi's all-around perfect-ness rubbed off on the scenery. That had been Sakura's first thought, and it had been good enough for her.

Sakura then went off to help Mikoto marinate the turkey, while also putting the ham in the oven. Afterwards, Sakura was preparing sweet potatoes, while Mikoto was putting the stuffing in the turkey.

And that was when the doorbell rang, and in came Kurenai, who had with her, a baby in her hand, and a bag in the other, which Sakura was certain contained all the things she would need for the baby, such as diapers, wash cloths, formula, baby bottles, etc.

"Look at the cute wittle babe!" Sakura made kissy faces at Kurenai's baby, as she grabbed her and held her up high. If there was one thing Sakura loved more than Christmas, than it was new born babies and all the adorable cute-ness that came along with it.

"Yeah, isn't she something?" Kurenai smiled sweetly as she looked around the room, and saw the two male Uchihas' and Naruto. "Good evening boys, Itachi." she could most certainly not call Itachi a boy. It was unheard of, and like taboo.

Sakura noted, the baby was wearing green footsie pajamas with red at the hands, feet, and collar, while in silvery letters it said "Baby's First Christmas" in fancy cursive letters, with a reindeer and a sled ontop of it.

"How adorable!" Sakura squealed in delight.

"Yeah, I've been waiting all year to finally have an excuse to put it on little Asumi."

"Whoa, she has your eyes Kurenai-sensei!" Sakura said, amazed as the little bundle of joy opened her eyes for her.

Kurenai nodded. "She also has Asuma's tan skin."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Did he drop you off just now? I didn't see him a the door..." Sakura questioned

"Of course. He thinks I'm not strong enough to take care of myself. He left once I reached the door. He had to go to the Hokage's office so he left. He sends his regards though." Kurenai rolled her eyes. "But enough about us. We should go help Mikoto in the kitchen." Sakura nodded in response, and searched around the room, staring at the three males.

She quickly gave it to Itachi, trusting him the most with a baby's life. There really was no competition. Naruto couldn't even properly take care of a goldfish... and Sasuke didn't like kids period. That is, all besides Neji's little brother. "Guard her with your life." Sakura's statement was strangely serious. In fact, it was so serious, Itachi felt like if anything happened to the baby, it would be the end of the world (either for him, or for everyone, he couldn't tell though).

Itachi merely nodded in response, even though he eyed the baby strangely.

Kurenai merely giggled at the foreign contact. Itachi, she knew for a fact, was inexperienced in the field of taking care of babies, or in general, anything to do with children. She had, after all, grown up with him over the years, she being just 2 years his elder, and been on quite a few missions with him.

The baby in return, gave him a curious, innocent look as it quirked its head to the side.

Sakura squealed in the background, but then quickly led Kurenai back into the kitchen, where they began working on who knows what.

And there Itachi was left... with a baby... which he knew nothing about how to take care of...

* * *

Itachi had been staring at the baby for the past fifteen minutes. They were both just sitting on the couch, the baby's body angled towards him, set on a warm and comfortable blanket. So far, all the baby had done was stare at him.

Should it be embarrassing to admit Itachi was becoming unnerved by the baby? Usually, after staring at someone for so long, he could figure out every single inch of information they knew, and make it seem as if he knew said person their entire life...

But what had he learned about the baby so far?

She had red eyes, which closely reminded him of the Sharingan, and black hair...

Maybe it was perhaps because with its mentality, it couldn't quite grasp any information yet, so it really had nothing to think or give? And see, Itachi didn't know anything about babies, he was referring to the baby as _it _just because he didn't know what else to call it...

_How about Asumi? _

No, the thought never occurred to him. What other things could he possibly gather from this bundle of soft skin and oddly small form?

Oh, maybe it was time to change her diaper...

Which he knew absolutely _nothing _about.

Naruto and Sasuke merely snickered at him from the sidelines. It seems, even they could tell something was off with the baby.

Soon enough, she started crying.

Itachi's eye twitched a fraction of a second. No, he was not about to try to resolve this by himself.

"Sakura" he merely called out, and if one paid attention (Sasuke sure did) he could clearly tell there was urgency and panick in his voice.

There should be, after all. This was a young, pure, innocent life he was dealing with. And he knew absolutely nothing about how to handle this situation.

"Go get Sasuke to help you! The supplies are all in the back next to the couch!" It was odd enough Sakura had even managed to hear him from all the way in the kitchen. Itachi found it funny how Sakura didn't even need to come to the living room to inspect what the problem was to understand what was occurring. Was she really that good? Maybe she had good maternal instincts, even though technically, she wasn't even a mother?

Nevertheless, Itachi turned to Sasuke, his eyes analytical. Sasuke was smirking. He felt all powerful right about now...

In truth, the only reason he knew what to do right now was because he had once been babysitting with Sakura (Naruto had been there too, but he had disappeared the moment the stench reached his nose). Thus, Sakura and Sasuke had been there to fend for themselves. Sakura merely laughed it off, seeing Sasuke's expression. She had made him do it, mostly because she wanted to see his expression (for it was surely priceless), but she had told him he'd need to learn _someday. _She had been a master at changing diapers, and in general, babies, ever since the age of eleven, when she was forced to take her of her baby niece and nephew (they were twins) and she'd also often help Ino with her own bundle of trouble (as she called it, but Sakura thought they were just the most adorable-est thing on earth, though she tended to say that about most of every baby she saw).

Unfortunately, Sasuke had bailed out on her shortly after that horrifying experience and used the excuse of "going to find Naruto" to leave. Obviously, he never returned...

_"The sooner, the better, right Sasuke-kun?"_

He still remembered the all too familiar quote.

And hell, Sakura had been right for once. It was still a shame he hadn't decided to stick around for the whole thing. Maybe he would have learned more, thus giving him more knowledge over Itachi in this field of expertise, thus securing his over all superiority. Still, he doubted he needed more knowledge than changing a diaper. After all, that was all there was to babies, right?

As he approached his brother with said bag, he stared at the baby, and cracked his knuckles. "Okay, let's do this." His tone sounded much more serious than needed to (well, in any woman's opinion, anyway. Itachi and Naruto found it just enough serious-ness)

It had taken Sasuke a while, but he got the hang of it after a few short minutes. After all, it had been about four years since the last time he changed a diaper. The stench and disgusting sight had all been worth it; Itachi had shared his pain, and he had been superior than Itachi, even if for the shortest of minutes, for the dumbest of reasons.

"And that, Itachi, is how you change a diaper." Sasuke smirked coolly at Itachi, who merely had a dumb-founded expression on his face.

"...Aa..." Sasuke quickly stood up and went to dispose of the trash after Itachi's comment, returning in mere seconds. (Sasuke still couldn't believe he had _actually _shown Itachi something. Had he not been an Uchiha, he'd be hyperventilating by now. This truly was the best Christmas ever... not that he'd ever admit it to Sakura)

When he sat back down, The baby stared at both Itachi and Sasuke curiously...

...And then promptly began crying once again.

Itachi looked back up at Sasuke. "And what do you do under these circumstances?" he stared expectantly at Sasuke.

"Err... ummm..." He stared nervously at the baby.

A few seconds passed...

"Sakura!" he panicked. He wasn't too particularly fond of kids, so he obviously cracked under too much pressure.

From the kitchen, Kurenai was about to go, but Sakura shook her head. "I'll do it Kurenai-sensei, don't worry about it." Sakura sighed. Stupid boys. They couldn't do anything right.

"Are you sure?" Kurenai asked nervously.

"Don't worry about it Kurenai." Mikoto insisted with a smile. "Should I have one, I'd put my baby's life on Sakura's care. She's the best." Mikoto answered.

"You're flattering me too much Mikoto." Sakura began undoing the apron.

"Nonsense, but while you're at it, why don't you take a break? I can see you're exhausted." Mikoto smiled kindly at Sakura.

Sakura blushed in embarrasment. "No, I'm quite alright Mikoto." Sakura insisted. Mikoto merely stared at Sakura expectantly for several seconds. "Is it that obvious?" she pouted.

"Oh dear, you'v been running around crazily these past few days. Just relax and tend to the baby. I'm sure that's an easier job to accomplish.

"Well... alright then..."

"Sakura!" Sasuke's panicked voice interjected shortly afterwards.

Sakura sighed. "I better get going then." she smiled back at Kurenai and Mikoto, who were already well on their way back to cooking. "I'm coming Sasuke-kun!" she shouted as she began exiting the kitchen.

* * *

"Now what seems to be the pwoblem, you adowable wittle thing?" Sakura began doing baby talk once more as she picked up Asumi and began rocking her back and worth for several seconds.

"It's not working!" Even Naruto began to panic.

"Pipe down you idiot." Sakura snapped. Immediately, Naruto shut up, and Itachi couldn't help but admire Sakura's almighty authority and supremacy for the slightest of seconds.

Sakura began patting the baby gently on the back, and before long, it let out a small burp, and then in quieted down shortly afterwards. "She had gas, that was all." Sakura sighed in relief as she stared at the baby. Shortly afterwards, she handed the baby to Itachi, who took it rather strangely, while Sakura rummaged through the bag, and then took out a baby bottle and some formula.

"Follow me. You really should learn this, considering you know nothing about this." She tried not to laugh at Itachi. Itachi merely nodded (not finding anything about this situation funny at all) and got up, making sure to gently hold the baby in the process, and then following Sakura.

Sakura returned to the kitchen and used an unoccupied part of it, and then placed the baby bottle and formula. "First of all, _this _is how you hold a baby." Sakura commented, rolling her eyes and taking the baby from Itachi. "Ehh?" she smiled slowly at Itachi with raised eyebrows as she held the baby firmly in her hands, as if saying "can you try this now?", or perhaps saying "you see, it isn't too hard," sarcastically almost.

Sakura handed Itachi back the baby as he struggled for a few seconds to get the hang of it. "You want to put your hand lower for support and comfort. Babies really are delicate things, you know. Sakura, forgetting this was Itachi, grabbed his hand and lowered it to the baby's bottom. Her hand enveloped his own larger one as she made him gently wrapped his arm and hand on Asumi. "Yeah... that's it." Sakura smiled brightly at Itachi for a few short second before she turned around and started preparing the formula.

Meanwhile, Itachi watched in (what he would never show, let alone admit,) astonishment.

Once the bottle was heated, Sakura let a few drops fall onto her arm. "Once it's hot, you have to test the temperature on your own flesh to make sure it's not too hot for the baby." she began once more, dropping a few dots on Itachi's arm, just as she had done to her own. "That there temperature is just perfect." The way she said it seemed to have come out as a purr, in Itachi's opinion. "Now, when you feed the baby, you want his body to be angled slightly. Here, give him to me." Sakura instructed.

Itachi did as she had told him, and watched as she gave the baby the bottle and Asumi reached out for it, pulling it closer to her mouth before opening it and taking in the warm milk. "There you go..." Sakura muttered slowly to Asumi, watching in glee as she hungrily gulped it down. "That's such a good girl..." Sakura continued her baby-talk. "Here, you try." Sakura smiled as she got closer to Itachi, so as to not move the baby to much while it drank, and then let Itachi take in slowly.

He seemed awfully nervous at first, but then got the hang of it and skilfully held her in his arm, the other holding the baby bottle. "See, you're a natural Itachi." Sakura giggled lightly.

Itachi stared down at Sakura, who was so, very close to him, they arms were touching, and then down at the baby, and couldn't help but show a microscopic smile.

And, well... let's just say this hadn't gone unnoticed by Mikoto and Kurenai, who had momentarily stopped cooking just to awe at the miracle before them.

"You're right, Sakura really _is _good with babies." Kurenai whispered to Mikoto.

Mikoto nodded slowly, though her mind was on other things...

They got to work before either Itachi or Sakura caught them staring, just smiling to themselves.

Meanwhile, Sakura began packing up the formula and the three of them headed back to the living room, where they sat next to each other, Asumi still in Itachi's arms, as she finished her milk (they noticed Sasuke and Naruto were nowhere to be found, probably somewhere in Sasuke's room talking about whatever they usually talked about). Afterwards, Sakura got her bib and wiped Asumi's mouth, and then slowly instructed Itachi how to tap the baby's back. After it burped a little, Sakura began rocking it slowly, to lull it to sleep.

Itachi soon took over, as Sakura began direction him how to do it.

"Softly, gently" Sakura spoke. "All thoughts of shinobi agility, stealth, and force must be forgotten." Sakura continued.

Well, considering this was Itachi, trained to be a stealthy killing machine since before the age of thirteen, that was a little hard to do, but nevertheless, he got by just fine (good thing he easily learned things).

"Yeah, you're doing fine." Still, Sakura took Asumi off his hands and began rocking her herself. She could tell Itachi was still uncomfortable with the baby in his hands, and Sakura had a good clue why. Those hands were meant to _kill _and _harm,_not to protect and build the innocent life of others, such as the toddler. Sakura could understand his nervous-ness. It was probably easier on Sakura because she had the hands that healed and saved, unlike him, a Black Ops ANBU member since the age of thirteen. It was have been unnerving for him, knowing he had in his hands, a pure innocent small child.

"You know, it's perfectly fine to feel nervous to hold something to special and delicate such as a baby in your hands." Sakura began slowly. "I understand you yourself must not be the most capable when it comes to babies and such, considering you're more of a shinobi, if you catch my drift..." she didn't want to go into full details about his job. "But you know, when it's _your _child... your own flesh and blood you're holding, you'll feel so, very protective over it... you'll never want to let it go." Sakura smiled gently at him. "I try to think every child I hold like that. That way, I know I won't harm it, not even by accident. Because I picture it being my child, the one I created and raised with the love of my life... It makes it all the worth while." She laughed gingerly.

Itachi didn't reply.

Sakura wasn't expecting one.

Instead she began to hum quietly a slow lullaby for it, the hum becoming louder with each and every passing second until it settled for a steady hum, which was loud enough to fill the quite room.

Soon enough, the baby fell asleep in her arms, and she and Itachi sat back down on the couch quietly, sitting right next to each other.

Sakura didn't know how or when it happened, but she slowly fell asleep as well.

* * *

"That was so... touching." Kurenai whispered quietly, sniffling a little.

"Not to mention romantic..." Mikoto giggled quietly.

...

...

"Do you smell something burning?" Kurenai asked, looking down at Mikoto, where her head was peering out of the opening that connected the kitchen area to the living room.

"Ahh!" Mikoto quickly dashed off to the stove and quickly turned off the fire.

Maybe they had been snooping for a bit too long...?

* * *

When Sakura awoke, it took a while for her to understand where she was, and what she was doing. The baby, all the still asleep and secure, was now partly on her, partly on Itachi, who happened to be on her right. Her face, which she noted with much embarrassment, was leaning on his shoulder, with his just barely lying on top of hers as well.

Well, this couldn't be any more embarrassing...

_'As long as no one sees Itachi's head resting on mine, and I never admit to this ever happening, then we'll be fine...'_

Too bad no one had told her Ino had already arrived a while back(well, she had been too busy sleeping on Itachi for anyone to tell her). She had also been too busy in dream land to know Mikoto and Kurenai had already awe'd at the two, Sasuke and Naruto had walked by, puked at the sight, had Mikoto and Kurenai hold Sasuke and Itachi back from shredding Itachi to pieces, as well as had Ino take pictures with her phone, and Mikoto with her camera.

(Even though Itachi was a light sleeper, his sleep deprivation had been getting the best of him, Sakura's sweet lullaby had even soothed him, and he figured he might as well indulge himself in the pleasure of acting like a normal person would while he still had an excuse to do so for the sake of Sakura and Sasuke, who he did in fact, actually care for despite contrary belief)

Or maybe, _just_ maybe, he had been awake through all of that, because he could most certainly feel when pairs of eyes were on him, or when there was killing intent directed to his person specifically, and even when flashing lights were going off in front of his very being, but he had been too comfortable too care, much less move from his current position.

No, he would not go as far as saying he liked the Haruno. He'd go as far as saying she was indeed far more interesting than any girl he had ever met, that her company was rather refreshing, and he had taken a small fonding to her, but he would not say he liked the kunoichi. (Maybe that was just him denying how he could actually, for a lack of better words, _like _someone in such a short amount of time, or him just being blunt about all the qualities of Sakura he actually enjoyed.)

Well, back to the issue at hand, how was Sakura to get out if this mess? Thing was, she couldn't (nor wanted to) get out of this, partly because if she moved her head his would move with it, and she was pretty sure he was a light sleeper, and partly because (though she'd never admit it) she was comfortable. Also, if he woke up and saw her awoke, it would be terrible awkward and would ruin most of any friendship she had with Itachi.

What if though, Itachi awoke by himself, noticed he was leaning on her, gently pushed her off (because though she hated to admit it, she was a rather heavy sleeper), and acted as if nothing happened? Yeah, that would be a good plan...

So initially, Sakura closed her eyes and dozed off once more.

* * *

The next time Sakura awoke her shoulder was being shaken lightly by a hand. Focusing in on it, she noticed it was Itachi's. It only took her a few seconds to react, and even when she did, she didn't jump or runaway, solely because of the reason that the baby was still on her, though she was now awake, smiling brightly and laughing giddily at the two.

"She woke up..." Itachi merely commented. His sentence, Sakura noticed was incomplete, which let her know what his predicament was.

_He didn't know what to do_

"Well, usually when she smiled and laughs it means she wants to _play._" she replied, as if saying it were kind of obvious.

She yawned slightly, and she put the baby on Itachi's lap and then got up, stretching her muscles and slightly stiff neck, before she picked Asumi up once more. She then began lifting the child up precariously in a fast motion, before bringing her down at the same pace, and then repeating that process several times, pleased when she heard Asumi laugh and giggled in response. "Like thrills and excitement, don't 'cha?" Sakura giggled as she spun the girl across the room and laughed along with the child.

"I see you're finally awake from your sweet dream." Sakura looked for the owner of the voice, who happened to be Ino.

Sakura tried to stop the diziness (whether it came from spinning Asumi in circles, or finding out Ino had seen her and Itachi, she didn't know), giving Itachi Asumi to hold after he stood up alongside her.

"Good evening, Yamanaka-san." Itachi greeted her with a curt nod.

Ino rolled her eyes. "No need for the formality Itachi, Ino's fine. We're all practically family here." She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "I just thought I'd let you all know, the party starts in a little over an hour, so if you're going to get changed, it'd be smart to prepare now." Ino stated.

"Is everything done in the kitchen?"

"Pretty much... we just need to clean up." Ino stated.

"Well then I'll help and we can get dressed together?" Sakura suggested.

Ino grinned. "Perfect"

Sakura hadn't noticed before, but the 3 tables backed against the wall already had all the food placed on them (it was like a little buffet line), and everything was set and ready.

"Wow... how long were we alseep?" Sakura muttered under her breath.

"Quite a while, if you ask me." Ino shrugged. "It's already 4:45"

Sakura's eyes widened. Had she really been asleep for about 3 hours? Sure, she hadn't really had much sleep (because she had been too excited for the party, and because stupid Itachi kept haunting her in her dreams), but how had she let the time pass by? She was supposed to help in the kitchen...

"Let's go, Forehead?" Ino asked as she turned around and began going towards the kitchen.

"Uhh, yeah, coming." she called out after her, but then quickly turned to Itachi. "I trust you're capable enough to be with the child by yourself now?" she asked Itachi, only half joking.

He smirked a little, but nodded in return.

"Great" she said, turned around and took a few steps ahead, but then turned around once more. "Umm, could you please tell Naruto and Sasuke to begin washing up and getting ready?" Sakura asked. "And also tell them not to forget it's _a _formal party. That means I should not, under_ any _circumstances see an orange jumpsuit or Sasuke's khaki shorts." Sakura couldn't help but glare slightly at the thought.

Itachi smirked. "Hn" and with that comment, he was off down the hallway and up the stairs to notify Sasuke and Naruto, while Sakura went back to the kitchen to help clean it up.

* * *

"So..." Ino began commenting on nothing in particular (my ass) as she stood behind Sakura, in front of her vanity mirror, combing her hair. "What was all the snuggling with Mr. Hotty?"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched dangerously. "I... he..." Sakura had to clear her head before she could respond correctly, which made Ino chuckle lightly with an interesting and teasing look. "We were taking care of Asumi and we fell asleep alright? It was all an accident." Sakura snapped.

"Are you telling me not even one part of you was remotely close to enjoying that?" Even though Ino was doing a hell of a job at interrogation Sakura, she was still doing her hair perfectly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. She wasn't even going to try denying it. Ino just knew her too well, so what was the point? "Ino, that's _Itachi."_she stressed his name. "Stop asking stupid questions."

"Alright, so we're getting right down to the point." Ino smiled acknowledgingly. "Do you like him?"

"No." Sakura stated.

"Ehh?" Ino acted as if she didn't hear Sakura.

"...Perhaps... but I haven't known him for that long." Sakura stated.

"Oh, so he's one of those people who you could _possibly_ like but don't really because you don't really know that much about the person and hardly talk to, but you find him irresistibly hot, while also thinking about him all the time, who can't get out of your head, and find yourself wanting to find out more about?" Ino responded quite quickly.

"Exactly." Sakura confirmed.

"And the fact that he hasn't already blown you off and shoo'ed you away means...?"

"That he's a respectful Uchiha who happens to be kind and has manners, unlike his younger brother." Sakura completed her sentence, nodding in acknowledgment.

"Right..." Unlike Sakura, Ino was no dense. Still, she guessed she let Sakura discover this sudden attraction by herself. It wouldn't be fair to Sakura if she straight up told her after all. Besides, it was Christmas... she was sure something was bound to happen... all she would need was a little help from the Christmas spirits of love...

Ino was already dressed in a simple blue sheath dress, with a low round collar, and a three fourths sleeve. The thin dress thatstuck to her silky smooth legs ended right above the knees, giving it a sexy look. Ino topped off the look with a diamond 14k silver necklace, a matching set of earrings, some silver bangles, and silver stilettos. Her hair was let down, showing the blonde hair that went down just past the nape of her neck, and her make-up was simple and natural.

Sakura sighed. "You make it seem so easy to be pretty, Ino-pig." she sigh miserably.

Ino scoffed. "Are you kidding me Sakura? You're one of the prettiest girls I've met. You have unique pink hair which sets you apart from the crowd, and beautiful green eyes. You have the longest legs I've ever seen, excluding Temari's of course, and are, dare I say it, well endowed when it comes to sex appeal." Ino chuckled as Sakura's face became redder and redder with every single compliment.

"I never thought about myself that way..." Sakura frowned slightly.

"That's it forehead! Tonight, I'll make sure no one will be able to keep their eyes off of you!" Ino grinned in determination.

* * *

Ino was right.

Sakura looked stunning.

But...

"Don't you think it's a little... _revealing?_" question Sakura.

"My, my Sakura. You still have a lot to learn, don't you?" she laughed heartily. Sakura merely quirked her head to the side in confusion. "Sakura, you're _seventeen,_ mind you, a beautiful seventeen year old girl. A **single **_seventeen _year old girl."

"That doesn't mean I need to go find a boy friend on Christmas day. And if I remember correctly, you're single too, Ino-pig." Sakura raised her head up high in pride.

"This is merely... to let all the fellows out their know your _available_ Sakura. Besides, I'm only single right now because I just recently broke up with my boy friend. Besides..."

"Yeah, yeah, you're still hoping Sasuke gets the message that you're still there." Sakura rolled her eyes.

Sakura stared at herself in the mirror once more. Her dress was one-sleeved, the strap being about an inch thick on her left side. It was also long, it touched the floor, but on the other side (her right) had an _enormous_ slit, going all the way back up past her lower thigh, before settling what was too close to her hip. Sakura thought it showed too much leg. Ino thought it was just enough. It was black in color, and similar to Ino's sheath ending, thin and clung to her legs, but as it neared the end, it flowed out a little. The material was satin, smooth and shiny as can be. For the finishing touches, Ino insisted she borrow Mikoto's ruby necklace (which she complied without missing a beat), along with the matching earrings and bracelet. She finished off the look with red stilettos, which wrapped around the ankle several times, and had criss-cross like patters near the toes to keep them on her foot.

Overall, Sakura looked stunning.

**End of Chapter**

**Wow, it's been too long, I know xD**

**But hey, I did manage to update before Christmas! :D Unfortunately, I got a bit carried away with the baby scene (As you can all probably tell D:) I was originally going to stop it at CH 4, but, obviously, the story is not complete _ Stupid adorable baby!**

**So, I will try my ultimate best to get the next update BEFORE December ends (and if reviewers are extra nice, maybe before Christmas o:) Which, you should all realize, would be my fastest update in over... _6 MONTHS PEOPLE_ That's a long time D: I have failed you guys haha**

**Onto other notes, these are the stories I plan to update next**

**New Sakura**

**Sakura's New Past**

_**AND MAYBE **_**Her Love, but i have had an author's block on that story for like... FOREVER (as you can probably tell, for it has been longer than a whole year since I've updated that story... wow, time goes by so fast...) So i have to see how my creativity flow for that story is going, and then I'll see what's crackin'**

**Anyway, any and all reviews are much appreciated! **

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))  
P.S. If you have any advice for _Her Love_, I would love to hear it xD**


	5. Stupid Mistletoe

**Chapter 5: Stupid Mistletoe**

Sasuke and Naruto were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs in the hallway. As far as they figured, they should make their grand entrance together. Really, it would be grand. Sasuke and Naruto were actually dressed _properly _for the event, and both had smiles on their faces (yes, even Sasuke!), even though they were still slightly upset about the fact Sakura had been sleeping on Itachi, and vice versa.

Naruto was wearing a satin orange colored dress shirt (which Sakura still found to be hysterical. Even when such events like these, he couldn't drop the orange), a dark gray vest, and the usual black tuxedo, with a black tie. Sasuke's own outfit was similar, but instead of the orange dress shirt, it was a dark, midnight blue.

"Presenting, Sakura Haruno!" Ino cheered hysterically from the top of the stairs, attracting the attention of not only Sasuke and Naruto, but a few passerby-ers who had been searching for a bathroom, along with Itachi. (He was pretty much wearing the exact same thing as Naruto and Sasuke, but the dress shirt was crimson red)

So when Sakura approached Ino, _much_ too many eyes were on her for her comfort. She became flustered, turned red, and looked down in embarrassment.

"Come on Sakura, look, you even attracted Itachi's attention." This made Sakura look up, spot him, and blush even more. Ino sighed. "I'll walk you down." Ino took her arm and wrapped her own around it, and slowly they descended down the stairs, where even Sasuke and Naruto were blushing.

"Zugoi Sakura-chan, Ino!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. "You two look amazing!"

Ino giggled lightly. "Thanks, Naruto." Once they reached the bottom steps, Ino handed Sakura to Naruto, while she took Sasuke's (mainly because he was there, she didn't want to look like a fool, and he looked irresistible), and the four of them walked off to the living room, where the party had already begun.

Sure, both Ino and Sakura made quite an impact to the party, but things settled down shortly afterwards.

Like always, Ino was off with some other guy, though this time it didn't see like she was trying to catch someone. She was actually with Hinata, Kiba, and Shikamaru, discussing about who knows what.

And, as always, Sakura was sitting on a chair at some random table, bored out of her head. She was being surrounded by guys she knew nothing about (besides their names), nor wanted anything to do with.

Soon enough, music started, and many couples and non-couples got off their butts for some romantic dancing. She noticed Naruto offeedr his hand to Hinata, which nearly made her squeal in delight. Really, it wasn't everyday Naruto decided to be romantic after all.

"Would you like to dance, Sakura-san?" the boy she believed to be Sora asked her with a kind an eager smile. Sakura returned the smile, but with less enthusiasm.

"Sorry, I'm not a very good dancer…" Sakura replied, her smile faltering.

"I'll teach you." It was not Sora, but some other guy she did not know who jumped in eagerly.

"No, I'll teach Sakura-san how to dance!" another bellowed.

"Umm… uhh, no, it's quite alright everybody." Sakura was beginning to feel cluster phobic. They just kept stacking up…!

"No, me!"

Someone cleared their throat, and the mob immediately disappeared.

Sakura looked up to see her savior. "Itachi?" she was both shocked and embarrassed.

Itachi gave a curt nod. "Would you like to dance?"

Sakura's blush deepened. "I really wasn't joking when I said I couldn't dance." Sakura muttered under hear breath, looking to the side in embarrassment.

"I'll teach you." He insisted, as he grabbed Sakura's hand, pulled her up, and then slowly brought her to what had become the dance floor before Sakura even had a chance to protest.

"Don't worry, Kaa-san saw your predicament and insisted I save you." He muttered under his breath as they began walking away.

"Ohh…" Okay, this made much more sense. Itachi didn't just _offer _someone a dance… especially not when it was he who would be dancing, after all. (Offering for his little brother, on the other hand, was something he quite enjoyed to do, especially when he was offering his hand to one of his devoted fan girls). "Alright" Sakura nodded after her train of thought. She expected Itachi to lead her through the dance floor and into the kitchen or something, where he would let her go, but he instead dragged her to the middle of the dance floor and then faced her.

"Umm, Itachi… w-"

"Relax" He smirked. "You taught me how to take care of an infant, it's only fair I return the favor." His skillful hands and arms grabbed her own, and made one grab his shoulder, while the other held his to the side of them. After he placed her hand on his shoulder, it skillfully held her on the waist.

Sakura tried not to blush from the contact, but she knew she was doing a horrible job at it. Still, curiosity ended up getting the best of her.

"And how exactly do _you _of all people know how to dance?" Sakura couldn't help but ask. After all, this was Itachi... technically, he _shouldn't _be able to dance.

Itachi gave a slight shrug. "Essentials for noble clans." He replied. "It may not seem so, but Sasuke can as well, though he tends to hide it." Itachi confirmed, as the two twirled around on the dance floor.

"Interesting" Sakura gave a contemplative look. "So Mikoto made you learn it?" she summed up.

Itachi sighed slightly, but smirked nonetheless "Pretty much, though I was only half joking about the previous statement."

She guessed it was possible. Surely having such a high title (A.K.A. Uchiha main household, and in his case, heir) meant they had to know proper etiquette, and such. Surely being the heir and all, he'd be forced to ask other woman to dance, while also being asked by others. Over all, it was a skill he most likely used often, when it royal parties and such.

"So how are you enjoying yourself so far?" Sakura changed the subject.

"Until know it was rather dull." He admitted.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "And what made it change?" she questioned, not realizing that had been a compliment on his part.

"Well, for one, you are a very intellectual being." He stated. "Easy to communicate with, and not detestable." He smirked.

"Gee, thanks for saying I'm not annoying." Sakura rolled her eyes, but laughed slightly nonetheless.

While their conversation was still going on, they were still dancing and moving to the rhythm of the music. Sakura didn't even notice she was twirling, and spinning, and being brought up off her feet as Itachi grabbed onto her hips and lifted her up, twirling for a few seconds, and then putting her down gently, continuing the regular dance. She was happy most of everyone was too preoccupied either dancing, conversing, or getting hammered to notice.

Once she did realize it though (it had taken her about the second jump), she blushed furiously, even though she had to admit she was amazed at the fluent and swift movements her body seemed to be making from their own accord, without her permission. She had to admit, she was actually enjoying this…

The song did not end, but the beat completely changed, turning into a slow dance. Many people left the dance floor, and a few joined in (which she noted were mostly couples), but Itachi hardly even gave her time to process this, for their paces slowed, and the mood (at least in her mind) completely changed.

"I have to admit, you're pretty good." Sakura muttered, embarrassed.

Itachi's lips quirked upwards to form a smirk. "You're not bad yourself."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't even know what I'm doing. I'm just following your lead." She admitted truthfully. Maybe it wasn't that her body knew exactly what to do, but Itachi, who knew exactly what to _tell_ her body to do.

"But part of the art of dancing is being able to become one with your partner, and move in perfect sync." Itachi replied.

'_Become one with your partner…' _Itachi's words lingered in her mind.

Her mind was in a haze. In fact, she didn't even notice it when her hands had wrapped themselves around Itachi's neck, and his on her petite waist.

'_What the hell? When did that get there?' _Sakura blushed furiously, even though Itachi didn't seem aware of it (oh, but he was). Her heart was beating a thousand beats per minute, and she was sure her skin was pinker than her hair.

How could _he _stay so calm and composed while she was about to have a heart attack?

Because he had been trained to be so since he was probably nine

Because he had already taken several girls dancing before (surely because he was forced to)

Because, to him, this was probably just to please his mother

Definitely not because he liked Sakura or wanted to get to know her better

'_Surely not…' _Sakura frowned slightly and looked down, her eyebrows scrunched together. Should she really be taking pleasure in this? Surely, whatever she was feeling right now would just go away as soon as the holidays passed, and she moved back to her own house, and never saw or heard of Itachi ever again, besides the occasions where she'd eat dinner with the Uchihas' once or twice a month, or saw him at the hospital after an S-ranked mission and needed a little patching up.

"Sakura?" Itachi said her name, as if asking what was wrong.

Startled slightly, Sakura looked back up and gave a fake smile "It's nothing."

Itachi didn't look convinced.

Sakura didn't blame him; she looked unsure, and she was sure it was obvious she was lying.

The song ended shortly afterwards, much to Sakura's relief. "I… umm, I'm going to get something to drink…" she muttered slowly, releasing her grip from Itachi's neck.

Itachi's arms didn't let go of her for several seconds (which she questioned profoundly), but he let go eventually, and she quickly made her escape to the kitchen, which was deserted and dark, mainly because everything you could possibly need was already in the living room.

She grabbed a cup, filled it with water, and gulped it down quickly, her cheeks red with anger and humiliation.

Was that really the only reason Itachi had stayed with her? Could it be any more humiliating that she wanted to be with him when it was all the same to him? I mean, it didn't _seem _like he was remotely interested in being with her, while whenever he approached her or said her name, she couldn't help but blush.

Sakura sighed out _miserably_. "It isn't fair!" she complained out loud, groaning.

"What isn't fair?"

Sakura turned around and saw Ino there.

Sakura sighed as Ino approached her and patted her hair lovingly, as if she were her daughter.

"Itachi asked me to dance, which I felt all happy about on the inside, but then he said Mikoto made him, because she saw how I was about to be devoured by boys, and now I realize maybe he's not even interested in being with me, as in company-wise, considering he makes it seem so casual to dance with a girl so intimately, mind you, a girl he's barely met." Her rant came out very quickly, Ino had to listen intently to not lose track of her words.

"I… see…" she said slowly, still trying to process her words. "Wait, you say Mikoto told him to?" Ino questioned, her eyebrows creased.

"Yeah" Sakura took another gulp of water.

"That's strange…" Ino muttered under her breath, putting her perfectly manicured thumb in her mouth, biting her nail lightly as she thought. "But I could have sworn…" Due to Ino's low voice and Sakura's distraction, she didn't hear Ino. "What did he say after you, let me guess, frowned, furrowed your eyebrows, and looked down?" Ino guessed correctly. Yes, she knew her best friend well, and she tended to do just that when she was upset.

"He merely called my name in question." Sakura replied, blushing slightly. Was she really that easily to read? Apparently she was, because Ino wasn't the only one who could read her like an open book, but Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Tsunade, and hell, even Itachi could.

"Do you honestly think he doesn't care about you if he genuinely asked if you were okay? Seriously Forehead, you need to stop doubting yourself."

Sakura seemed unconvinced, though a little light did shine down on her.

Ino, deciding to change the subject, smiled and rolled her eyes. "Hey, you look beautiful, and it's Christmas. You have no time to be here in the kitchen bursting your bladder and worrying about the feelings Itachi may or may not have for you." Ino quickly took Sakura's glass (which Sakura was quick to pout about), poured out the remaining water in the sink, and then set it down on the marble counter. "Let's go have some fun."

* * *

Ino had been right, once again.

As she resumed celebrating and partying (it was Christmas, and by God, she was going to be happy, with or without Itachi), she became happier, and all thoughts of Itachi and her misfortune when it came to love where thrown out the window as she danced with Sasuke (Itachi was right, he was a good dancer), Naruto, Kakashi, Ino, and even Tsunade (even though none were as good a dancer as Itachi). To say the least, Itachi taught her a few things so she didn't look that ridiculous while dancing with any of them (though she did step on some toes every now and then, particularly Naruto, who had two left feet, and Kakashi, who wasn't much of a dancer anyway).

"I never thought this could be so much fun!" Sakura admitted, dancing goofily with Ino. In her defense, she only had one _glass _of sake; not substantial enough to cause her to do much of anything she would regret later on that night or in the morning. She was still though, not tolerant to alcoholic beverages, unlike Tsunade, so she did feel a little giggly… err… gigglier than usual…

"Oh, most youthful Sakura, would you please have this dance with me!"

"Sorry Ino, but I gotta go now!" Sakura laughed and ran away from the dance floor. Unfortunately, she was never mastered heels, and her dress was just _so _long. Halfway out the dance floor she stepped on her own dress and stumbled forward, only to be caught by the shoulders by someone before she could actually fall.

'_Please don't be Lee. Please don't be Lee. Please don't be Lee.' _She kept repeating the mantra over and over inside her head. She looked up slightly. _'YES! No green jumpsuit under a tuxedo in sight!' _she thought happily, until she saw her savior.

"Itachi?"

"It seems like we keep running into each other." He smirked.

"Haha, very funny." She scowled. Now that was just plain mean right there. Sure, she was a little… _off-balanced,_ but he didn't need to make fun of her for it.

"Sakura-chan!" Lee called out again, rapidly approaching her.

Sakura jumped slightly, accidently hitting her nose with her hand.

_Okay… maybe he had a __**good **__reason for making fun of her…_

But it still gave him no right.

Sakura's hands quickly latched onto his neck and it came all too natural to both Sakura and Itachi to start dancing.

_Okay… maybe __**now **__he had the right to make fun of her…_

"My most youthful Sakura-chan, would you please honor me with this dance?" Lee went on one knee, as if proposing.

Sakura looked up at Itachi with puppy eyes.

"Sorry Lee, Sakura and I are not finished with our own dance." He replied after a few seconds of eyeing her, as if saying 'haha, I have complete power over you as of now.'

Lee looked beyond devastated.

"Sorry Lee, maybe after I'm done dancing with Itachi." Sakura didn't want to be completely mean. I mean, it was Christmas after all…

His devastated look turned back into one of happiness. "Great! I'll see you then cherry blossom!" and so he walked away looking accomplished.

"And what do you plan to do after we do indeed finish our dance?" Itachi asked her curiously as they began moving.

"Well, I'll stay with you for about five minutes, and then get the hell out of here, and if I do get approached by Lee again, I'll jump onto the next available body around." Sakura smiled gingerly. Itachi smirked at her response.

Soon enough, Sakura was entranced by not only the music, but by Itachi and his very presence as well. She finally managed to get to her senses when the song ended, and Itachi had his hand pressed against the small of her back, and she was dipping down low backwards, Itachi supporting her back with his hand, while the other hung in the air beside him, one of her legs up in the air.

'_When the hell did I get like this?' _A blushed crept up on her face as she became deadly aware of the gleam in Itachi's eyes, and just how many people might be staring at them… But then Itachi slowly pulled her back up and steadied her after they were chest to chest, and then she could hardly care about the other occupants in the room. She was panting heavily and looking up at him with an accomplished and incredulous smile, and Itachi was looking down at her, smirking.

"You're becoming a natural." His compliment snapped her out of her trance once again

"I, ughh… thanks... for umm… dancing with me… I mean, saving me… from Lee, that is" Sakura stuttered out as she parted, giving them each more space. Sakura was beginning to feel like she would turn into goop by his intense, smoldering, _sexy _stare. Her thoughts became jumbled and all she wanted to do was just lie there in his arms once more.

"The pleasure was all mine, Sakura." He gave her a curt nod, his eyes never leaving hers, before he walked away smoothly.

'**Damn that's a fine man' **inner couldn't help but remind her.

'_I know inner… I know…'_

* * *

Around the time it hit 10:00, most of all the villagers that came (all villagers were invited, though the _real _party began after they left at 10:00, with all of Sakura's real friends, namely, shinobi) left, and the room cut down by more than half the people.

Mainly, it was the Rookie Nine with their respective sensei', along with Team Gai, Tsunade, Shizune, some of the medical staff, Genma, and some ANBU, along with the Uchiha Clan namely Shisui and some of the Uchihas' who were actually close to the main household (though Shisui and his parents mainly summed it up).

And yes, that had been when the real party began. Now that there were less people, it was easier to find everyone, and it was not as loud (not that anyone minded). And that was when they began passing out presents. They had rearranged everything, now that everyone was gone, so that all possible couches surrounded the tree, and everyone lounged around them, either laying on them, sitting on someone, on the floor next to the feet, or behind the couches, enjoying the small talk and such.

Usually it would be Mikoto who would pass out all the presents, but for some strange reason, (not really, Mikoto was just extremely glad to see _both _of her sons actually attend the Christmas Party) it had been Sasuke to pass out presents. She would have made Itachi do it to, but she knew he wasn't much of a talker. Plus, if she ever wanted him to attend something, she knew she'd just have to ask; he was just such a giving son like that. But unlike Itachi, Sasuke would fret, pout, sulk, glower, scowl, and then glare, before accepting –if he did in the end anyway.

So yes, it was more of a miracle that Sasuke attended –let alone had fun, rather than Itachi, even though she did see Itachi did… _entertain _himself for a while.

"First present…" Sasuke wasn't really quite sure how to start things off, so he picked up the first present he saw. "From Shizune to Sakura"

Wow, curse her luck for getting the first present; Sakura never really liked that. Still, Sasuke walked up to her and handed her the present, which she eagerly opened. It had been a pajama spaghetti strap tank top along with the shorts that came with it. The shirt was gray with thick black stripes, and it gray letters, it say "Dangerous Kunoichi". The stripes and letters seemed slightly faded, giving it an edgy look to top it off. The shorts were gray with a black strap to adjust it, and had small black kunai everywhere.

Sakura squealed in delight. She _loved _looking like a badass… even _in_ her sleep. "Thank you Shizune!" she pounced on Shizune, who merely laughed heartily and welcomed the hug.

"Okay… moving on…" Sasuke really needed to be more enthusiastic in Sakura's opinion, but she didn't voice out her thoughts. She was lucky to have him here, so she'd settle with that miracle. "This one's to Kaa-san from Tou-san."

"Aww, how sweet." Tsunade chirped in, already slightly buzzed.

All stares turned to Fugaku, this being one of the only times you would ever catch him blushing. The present was a small box, which immediately indicated it was jewelry, more specifically, it was a pearl necklace.

"My birthstone, you remembered Fuga-kun!" she squealed adorably.

**(A/N: Yes, that is her real birthstone: June 1****st**** ;D)**

His blush deepened the slightest bit as Mikoto jumped on him and kissed him uncontrollably.

"Eww, Kaa-san!" Sasuke looked disgusted by the sight, blushing and turning to the side. Seriously, if there was another Itachi-like baby nine months from now…

Sasuke shivered at the thought, and quickly continued on with the next gift before he got mental images. _'Eww another Itachi!'_

"From Sakura and Hinata, to… Naruto." He grimaced. He had hoped he'd pick that one last; the blonde had been annoying him all throughout the party about how he had the most _wonderful _dance with Hinata, and he hadn't dared to even look at a girl (besides Sakura and Ino when they were descending the stairs, that was).

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed in delight as he snatched the present from Sasuke's hands before he could even think about throwing it into the fireplace.

Sakura laughed. She had been mad at Naruto at the time she bought it, so she made it embarrassing.

"Cool! Ramen boxers!" He held them up. They were orange on the outside and blue on the inside, with cute ramen bowls all around it, the chopstick sticking out of the bowl.

"Custom made Naruto." She chuckled, as well as everyone around her who heard the comment. "That's not all Naruto, look closely." Sakura stated. Did he really believe that was all she would get him for _Christmas_ of all holidays?

"There's more?" Naruto questioned, as he turned the box upside down and slowly but surely, a small card and piece of paper fell out of it. He picked it up the paper and the card, and then read the paper aloud. "This here card permits you to have free ramen at Icharaku's all year long. Use it wisely, and don't you **dare **lose and or break it. With much love and kisses, Sakura _-and Hinata, even though she's too shy to admit it!_

Naruto nearly hyperventilated, gasping for air and having to lean against a couch to catch his breath. "Oh my Ramen!" (Naruto had brought it within himself to start saying that for the past year). "This is the best Christmas present _ever!"_ Maybe Naruto, for once, wasn't exaggerating.

"Yeah it better be, that cost us a fortune." Sakura smiled gingerly.

Naruto then proceeded to tackle Sakura, and then hug Hinata profoundly. In fact, he didn't let go of her for 10 whole minutes.

"Okay… next…" Sasuke murmured, searching the gifts for one that pleased him. _'Ahh, there it is.' _In fact, he had only been looking for his. "From Sakura, to me…" He smirked, more like smiled, giddily.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Of course he'd be searching for that one. He opened it up, and saw a scroll. He was already intrigued. Before he opened it, Sakura stopped him, just to give him a little description.

"That scroll contains some of the most advanced Fire Jutsu's known to the Fire Nation." She explained. His eyes immediately sparked with fire (as in the intent to practice these, master them, and then kick Itachi's ass). "You'd be amazed how long I've been searching for that scroll." She frowned slightly.

He didn't mind admitting it now. "I love you Sakura" he smiled graciously, hugging her.

Sakura giggled and returned his hug lovingly. _'Asking Itachi to partake in Christmas festivities was the best thing I could ever do.' _It was now a known fact.

"Next, to TenTen from Lee" And so, the gift passing out resumed.

* * *

One by one, the presents were all passed out and given away, with the pause every now and then when Sakura's fabulous presents came up, and people either cried, squealed, or hugged the hell out of her.

And then there were only 2 presents left. One, she could distinguish as the one she had gotten Itachi, and the other, she didn't quite recognize, but it was long but not big, which she could instantly tell was another jewelry box, maybe a bracelet or necklace.

"To Itachi from… Sakura?" The room went silent. Sasuke went paler than usual. He immediately semi-threw it at Itachi, expecting his own Christmas present to be extended and for it to be a bomb, indicated to blow up the second Itachi opened up. But of course, he knew that was just him denying the fact Sakura had been _too kind_ and had went out of her way to get his older brother something.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. So far, the only presents he had gotten had been from Shisui, which had been a prank present (a black shirt that said "I [insert red heart here] my girl friend" in white letters, which was meant to remind him he was now single for twenty-two and a half years straight now. Naruto and Sasuke had gotten quite a laugh from it, and Sasuke reminded himself to put in his agenda to get Shisui an awesome birthday present in the future) and Mikoto, who had gotten him reading glasses (which although he'd never admit out loud about, he and his mother knew he was extremely thankful for, for his eyes had been bothering him a lot lately).

It was a jewelry box

Sasuke began snickering along with Naruto and Kiba, and anyone who dared make fun of Sakura's present. Sasuke was now beginning to think maybe it _was _an extended present for him, and maybe even Naruto, as if she were calling him a chick (or perhaps gay) because he hadn't had a girlfriend in, as Shisui estimated it, twenty-two and a half years.

Itachi raised his eyebrows and searched for Sakura around the room, who was beaming brightly at him, as if egging him to open it. Well… he doubted Sakura had schemed with his pesky little brother to make him seem any less the gender he really was so…

He opened it.

It was a dark platinum ring, thick and perfectly round, and as it reached the place where a diamond or some form of jewelry should be located, standing in all its perfect glory, was the Uchiha Clan symbol. It was in a light silver platinum color, but the thin line separating the different parts of the symbol seemed to have been burned, so it was surrounded in a thin layer of black, which made the clan symbol pop out. It looked edgy and cool, and definitely not meant for a woman.

Itachi was silent.

Sakura was extremely nervous. Did he not like his gift…?

"Pass it here, 'Tachi-kun." Mikoto insisted. He did as he was told, and Mikoto and Fugaku (who had Mikoto on top of him, sitting on his lap now), inspected the ring.

"My…" Mikoto gasped in admiration. All those who surrounded them nodded their heads in approval.

"It certainly is spectacular…" Neji commented from the sidelines. He, who took honor from being a Hyuga, would have loved the ring as a present (of course, if you replaced the Uchiha symbol with that of the Hyuga Clan, that is), even if it was a ring, hence forth, feminine.

"Why does everyone expect it to be so feminine for a guy to wear a ring?" Ino rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I find it pretty nice. It's not feminine at all." Shizune nodded in agreement.

Sakura seemed nervous all the while. Sure, everyone said they liked it, but the one person it was meant for hadn't even voiced his opinion yet… and his mattered most…!

The ring was given back to Itachi shortly afterwards, and he took it out of the case and put it on his left, middle finger, and admired how well it fit.

'_I'm so glad… I took my guess off of Sasuke's finger size.' _She mentally sighed in relief. Nevertheless, he hadn't still stated his opinion about the ring. _'Maybe he's not into jewelry…?' _

Itachi smirked and nodded at Sakura. "The gift is much appreciated, Sakura." The smirk turned into a small smile (which no one but Sakura, Mikoto, and Fugaku could really notice), and her hesitant frown turned into a bright smile.

"I'm so glad you like it Itachi!"

'**Yes! Mission 'Get Itachi a Perfect Present' Success!' **she was so happy, even her inner busted up in excitement (though most of anyone would have, after that smile).

"And now…" Sasuke picked up the final present. "To Sakura, from Sasuke-"

This made Sakura's jaw drop in surprise

"-and Itachi"

She nearly passed out.

"W-What?" she stuttered out in amazement, and shock.

Sasuke was blushing (surely from embarrassment, and maybe anticipation to see if Sakura liked her present) as he handed her the thin box.

It took Sakura several seconds to mentally prepare for the present, and what better way to do that than to joke around? "And you're positive this won't in any way, shape, or form, pop out of the box and attack me, and is not some form of weapon, right?" Sakura quirked an eyebrow at Sasuke. She knew it didn't, mainly because Itachi had also gotten the present (and Itachi so far had been a gentleman) but had it been only Sasuke's present, she'd probably ask Naruto to open it for her.

"It will." Sasuke smirked. Sakura didn't quite know what he meant.

Still, Sakura was a girl who loved receiving presents…

So she tore the wrapping paper right up, and opened the box after just the slightest hesitation.

_And her jaw dropped_

It had been a bracelet, like Sakura had predicted, but it was much prettier than expected.

It was like a charm bracelet made from silver chains, with pink jewels, combining some of the several things she enjoyed and loved. The thing that stuck out to her the most was the Sakura tree, it was big compared to the other charms, but was smaller than an inch. It showed intricate carvings on the branches, and the pink jewels just further added to the charm. She also saw a ramen bowl, obviously standing for her favorite place on earth (mainly because it had the homey smell she had gotten accustomed to over the years, and because she knew if she were there, she wasn't too far from Naruto.) There was also a simple Konoha insignia, and next to it, the Uchiha (prideful Uchihas' always have to put their own take some way or another, but she loved them nonetheless) emblem. There was also a vaccine shot, which obviously stood for the hospital, hearts, which she thought maybe stood for how much love she had for everyone (it seemed to fit), a kunai, a fox, slug, and little serpent all closely hunched up together. That must have obviously stood for Naruto, herself, and Sasuke, as inseparable as they were today.

**(A/N: In this story, Sasuke was nowhere remotely near Orochimaru, but he did get the serpents from Anko o:)**

There were so many wonderful, beautiful, intricate designs, Sakura's wouldn't be able to name them all right now. So, she settled for the next best thing.

She tackled Sasuke and Itachi (who were, lucky for her, standing next to each other now) down to the ground, and held them there in place in a death lock. All thoughts of it being _Itachi _(she sure as hell didn't care now, considering he got her such a fabulous present, and what the hell, she slept on him for Kami's sake!) out the window.

"I love you guys." It was mostly directed to Sasuke, just because she could actually honestly say she loved _him..._as a brother, of course. As for Itachi, well, she was starting to strongly like him more and more.

Sasuke, slowly and hesitantly, returned the hug, smiling slightly, while Itachi just smirked.

* * *

"Goodbye, Take care!" Sakura waved off the last bunch, consisting of Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, and an ANBU, all if which had to escort Tsunade home, for she had gotten too drunk at the party. "We should really cut sake off the menu next year." Sakura muttered, rolling her eyes. She shut the door and walked a few steps, where Mikoto was standing.

"Oh, but you have to admit Tsunade-sama brings on quite a lot of laughs when drunk." Mikoto giggled.

Sakura shrugged. "True"

It was 11:30, probably, maybe more. The party was officially over, but everyone had to clean up, though Sakura insisted Mikoto and Fugaku go early, considering one, Mikoto had worked so hard for the past 48 hours, and two, it was just impolite to ask Fugaku to clean. And with a little persuasion from Itachi, they finally got through to Mikoto.

"I leave you in charge, Sakura dear." Mikoto sighed in dismay.

"Right…" Sakura nodded. Once Fugaku and Mikoto retired to their rooms, Sakura turned back to the remaining males in the room.

"Naruto, you and Sasuke gather up all the dishes and start washing. Itachi and I will take care of the trash." It was a large amount, considering there was just so, so many drinkers at this time of the year. And considering it was Christmas, Tsunade had gotten _extra _hammered… if that were even possible.

Sakura and Itachi gathered up all the empty bottles in silence, and then went outside to throw them out. Had Sakura been a little smarter, she would have remembered to bring a jacket of some kind. So as soon as she opened the door, a cold gust of wind hit her in the face, and she yelped. Sakura turned around quickly, deciding that putting on a jacket would be best, but then she came face to face with Itachi, who was smirking down at her, his coat already in his hand for her.

"Don't," she cut him off, "say a word." She seethed, grabbing his coat harshly and throwing it on, welcoming the warmth it brought to her. Itachi merely smirked at her reaction. They both exited the screen door and walked the twenty or so steps it took to reach the trashcan, and then hurried back (on Sakura's part anyway, her legs were still cold).

It had taken them several rounds, but they finally cleaned up every inch of trash there was. Once they got back from their last round, they noticed Sasuke and Naruto were nowhere to be found. Most likely, they ended up using the bunshin to finish twice as fast (Sakura was furious she hadn't thought of that herself), and then finished.

"Well, I guess we're all done here." Sakura sighed in relief.

Itachi nodded absent-mindedly. "Headed to bed, I presume?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah I'm just… gonna grab a quick drink." Sakura muttered, entering the kitchen. "Oh, and before I forget, can you help me turn off all the Christmas lights outside? There are a couple of switches out there that turn everything off." Sakura explained.

Itachi nodded, and as soon as Sakura finished her drink, they set off to turn it off.

Sakura shivered under the cool ice. Come on, she was tired, her feet hurt, and it was hard enough to walk on ice as it was! She almost fell (once again) as she climbed up the small porch, but (once again) Itachi caught her, this time by the elbow. Man, and she had been so close to the door too. She could have made it, she was literally like right under it!

"Sakura?"

"Mhmm?" Sakura was just praying he wouldn't make fun of her.

"What's that?" He looked upwards. Sakura followed his gaze.

"Oh!" she perked up. "I know what it is" she smiled. "It's called a mistletoe. When two people get together under it they're supposed to k-" Sakura froze, pausing for a few seconds to rethink her answer. Alas, it was too late to stop now... "Kiss…" she repeated again, this time slower. She looked up once more. Yes, that indeed was right beneath the two…

She looked at Itachi, her face flushed.

He stared at her with a smirk.

"No, I couldn't Itachi…" She shook her head sourly.

"Completely understandable, Sakura." He nodded.

Sakura parted her lips, closed them, then opened them once more. "I've never _not_ followed through with tradition though…" Sakura frowned. Hell, she had even kissed _Lee_ when she got caught under this the previous year. Of course, it had only been in the cheek though…

"Well, it wouldn't be right if you stopped now, would it, Sakura?" He cocked his head at an angle, teasing her, _daring her._

"You're asking for it Uchiha." She glared at him.

And he was.

No, you don't understand.

_He literally was_

"Afraid?" he teased her.

"Of what?" she scoffed.

He inclined his head towards her, in which she replied by pushing hers backwards.

"I rest my case." He smirked, returning back to standing up straight.

Sakura glared at Itachi. _'He thinks he can make fun of __**me **__and __**my **__Christmas traditions? Oh. Hell. No.'_

'**That's right. Prove him wrommfff-'**

Inner was silenced when Sakura tip toed and crashed her lips onto his. At first, she was angry, but then she realized… she didn't need to _crash _her lips on his. A simple peck would have done… But then again, she wouldn't have proved her point had it been a meek kiss.

'_That's right… it was to prove my point…'_

"Hey Sakura, what are you d- EWW GROSS!" Naruto appeared from the hallway and instantly grew red.

Meanwhile, Itachi had been startled by Sakura's abrupt attack to his lips, and a few seconds afterwards, her lips were off his own. Sakura scoffed. "You see, I'm not afraid of mistletoes, and I'm definitely not afraid of _you_, Itachi Uchiha." She frowned at being caught, but whispered it to Itachi nonetheless.

"Hn" he smirked as Sakura pushed past him and went inside, glaring all the way there.

Itachi looked up and stared at the mistletoe, and then turned around to go back.

"Teme! Your brother was raping Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined loudly.

"Pipe down Naruto. You're going to wake up Mikoto and Fugaku-san." Sakura punched him on the head, her face still dark red from embarrassment.

Sasuke came out of the hallway shortly afterwards, wearing a long blue shirt and black boxers.

"What happened?" he had been finishing up brushing his teeth when Naruto had yelled.

"Itachi was kissing Sakura! I told you something was going on when they were sleeping together!" Naruto sounded enraged.

Sakura, if possible, got even redder. "God Naruto! You're making it sound so, so wrong!" she shook her head in embarrassment. "And Sasuke! You're not even decent!" she shook her head in dismay. Sure this wasn't the first time she's seen him like this (her men in boxers and briefs had become a normal thing for her now), but still… she didn't need Itachi's kiss, Naruto's loud complaints, and Sasuke half naked all at _once. _Did they know they were driving her crazy?

"You what?" Sasuke was enraged. Itachi looked uninterested.

"Is it any of your business what Sakura does while away from you two?" Itachi questioned.

"Absolutely" they answered in unison without missing a heartbeat.

"Teme, I say you go for the face and I go for the legs." Naruto already started making murder plans, cracking his knuckles.

"It would be my pleasure. Next time he'll think twice about sneaking up on Sakura like that…" he grumbled incoherently. "Thinks he can do whatever he wants just cuz we're not watching over her…" he snorted.

Whoa, since when did Sasuke openly admit he was protective of Sakura? That was surely a first.

Itachi sighed and walked up to Sakura. "Sakura?"

She looked up innocently, and before she had time to register anything, his lips were on hers once again. Sakura turned scarlet, but she didn't push him away. It was a simple, chaste kiss. Nothing more, nothing less.

When they pulled apart (she could swear it was longer than 5 seconds), Naruto and Sasuke were crimson red.

"As you can see, hiding what happened was not my intention." He tried not to roll his eyes. "And to clarify, it had been _Sakura_, who, as you put it, "raped me". He smirked.

"Sakura, how could you!" Naruto looked appalled.

"Not just once, but _twice._" Sasuke looked green.

Sakura glared. "It was a mistletoe. Get over it." She sighed, her face finally turning back to how it usually was. "Now I suggest you two go back to bed before I beat you two shitless."

The threat seemed scary enough for them to back down and return to their own rooms.

Once they were clearly out of ear shot and out of vision, Sakura sighed and massaged her temples, feeling a migraine coming on. "Itachi, before you leave can you please help me carry all my boxes up to my room?" she asked, not even looking at him. Frankly, if she did, she might just pass out.

"Hn" both of them made their way to the only boxes left. Sakura took about three, and Itachi was kind enough to take the rest.

"Thanks… you can just drop them in the corner by the bed." Sakura instructed as she placed her own there, and then sat on her bed, taking of the shoes. Man, her feet were _killing _her. He did as he was told, and placed them down gently.

"Thanks for the present Itachi, I really liked it." Sakura commented out of nowhere.

He looked up. "Likewise, Sakura"

"Oh, so you really liked it?" she smiled eagerly.

He nodded. "First present I've received that wasn't Kaa-san's that I will be fond of." He admitted.

Sakura laughed. "It wasn't that hard for me to think of that…" Sakura's eyebrows furrowed as she looked up.

"You seem to be one of the more capable at picking out good gifts." Itachi acknowledged.

Sakura rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess I do have a talent for that. By the way, was this possibly made by Takaharu-san?"

"It was indeed." Itachi smirked.

"I knew it! I could identify his work in a heartbeat. It really is magnificent." Sakura nodded. "How on earth did you know I liked Takaharu-san's work so much though?" she questioned.

"Sasuke" he nodded.

"Oh…" Sakura smiled. Maybe Sasuke really did pay attention to her when she would ramble on about unimportant girl related stuff, when he specifically said he didn't care and acted as if he weren't paying attention…

"Well, I guess you should go now." Sakura snapped up from her train of thought and walked Itachi to her door.

"Hn" he exited, but then turned around expectantly shortly afterwards.

"Did you forget something?" she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"As a matter of fact, I did." He confirmed.

* * *

"What is this? Let Itachi kiss Sakura Day?" she growled in anger loudly. Third kiss that day. Hell, that was her third kiss in the past hour; more action than she had had the whole year, prior to today.

From the hallway, Itachi heard her, and chuckled.

'_Naïve kunoichi'_

Okay, maybe now he'd admit he liked her. After all, the way her lips had felt on his…

He thought it was just the frozen tingle of her lips he got at first. But he wasn't sure, so he needed to confirm it. When he did it in front of Sasuke he felt it again, so it surely wasn't the snow, but maybe it was the tingle of victory, knowing he was making Naruto and Sasuke –mainly Sasuke, very jealous.

So again, he needed to confirm it.

And he did.

Itachi Uchiha liked Sakura Haruno

And he would not stop until he made that noticeable and crystal clear.

* * *

And so the story goes, Sakura woke up the next day to a few surprises.

First and foremost, the first person she was greeted by that day was Itachi, not Naruto, surprisingly enough.

Sakura had thanked Mikoto for telling Itachi to ask her to dance when she was about to be raped, but she laughed and said she had told Itachi no such thing.

Itachi seemed more interested to be near Sakura, and less and less interested about bugging Sasuke.

Oh, and Mikoto was throwing a New Year's party, which she would still be there for.

Oh dear…

**End of Chapter**

**Well, this chapter was longer than expected xD Still, I got it done, and in record time as well! :D Yay, let's all do a happy dance.**

**And look, this is my first completed story ever! YAY**

**Now, for a thnx for updating so quickly (and maybe as a Christmas present) will you all press the review button and tell me what you thought about the story? :D**

**Oh, and if you guys want a one-shot sequel (obviously being the New Year's Party), which may or may not be updated before New Years (depends on my creative flow xD)**

**So that's about all I have to say…**

**Look out for a new chapter of:**

**New Sakura within a week or two!**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


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